Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Hindoyan: Elgar Cello Concerto

There’s an elegiac undertow to the concerto Elgar described as ‘a real large work, good and alive’. And, laced with telling self-quotations, Rachmaninov’s orchestral swansong ends on a note of fierce valediction. But there’s a foot-tapping counterbalance in prospect as Domingo Hindoyan delivers an exuberant signature calling card: Roberto Sierra’s vibrant fandango mash-up of Soler and Boccherini.

The Orchestra’s Chief Conductor since 2021, Hindoyan is an enthusiastic champion of the music of the Caribbean and his native South America. With Hindoyan in charge, ‘every concert feels like a holiday’ declares The Times. Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrández meanwhile has already been hailed ‘a new cello genius’ by Le Figaro; and The Los Angeles Times detects ‘pop-idol magnetism, superb technique and exhilarating musicality…a sure star in the making’.