Performer: Walter Weller

Veteran conductor Walter Weller failed to bring two German masterpieces to life, despite some gorgeous playing from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Brussels’ Palais des Beaux-Arts occupies the site where once stood the Pensionnat Héger, the school where Charlotte and Emily Brontë lived during their sojourn in the Belgian capital – an appropriate setting, as it is not difficult to imagine Bruckner’s mighty Fourth Symphony underscoring one of the sisters’ Gothic tales of unrequited love.

This concert exploded into life with Weber’s overture from Euryanthe. Guest conductor Walter Weller displayed economy of movement but set the orchestra off at a cracking pace, creating an upbeat mood that was sustained throughout the evening.