The Orchestre de Radio France had come to the same hall a month earlier to perform an unusual programme-Mozart's Concerto No.22 in E flat, K482, Schubert's Six German Dances, D820, Webern's orchestration of the same pieces and Schubert's Second Symphony-directed by Francophile German pianist Christan Zacharias.
Now in his early fifties, Zacharias confines himself almost exclusively to the Classical repertoire, in which he can combine scrupulousness, intensity and freshness in near ideal proportions.
His Mozart, however, has aroused controversy, and he made no attempt to play safe on this occasion. The composer's grandest concerto sounded airy thanks to Zacharias' highlighting of the many woodwind solos. True to form, Zacharias even wrote parts for the wind players into his first movement cadenza.
His own playing was characteristically lively, not a single passage being allowed to sound routine (although his few embellishments sounded more Chopinesque than Mozartian), but the orchestra often sounded uncomfortable with his generally brisk tempos.
For his curious 'encore', Zachaias adopted an improvisatory style with so much rubato that the dance rhythm was frequently lost. Nevertheless, his seductive tone made me wish he had chosen to play some'proper' Schubert instead.