Work: Symphony no. 1 in C major, Op.21

On an eclectic programme that also featured superstar soloist Sol Gabetta, ear-opening Shaw and suave Saint-Saëns balanced muscular Beethoven. 

On the surface, this Verbier Festival program looked mild (Brahms and Beethoven), but in performance, it had the effect of dropping a lit match into a crate full of fireworks.

The elegance of the First Symphony served as a perfect curtain raiser for the mammoth, exultant Ninth.

An all-day Beethoven experience European style with both highs and lows: much diversity revealed and exploited but of variable quality.

Listening to arrangements of Bach is like Dostoevsky’s challenge not to think about polar bears. It’s best to put the Bach out of your thoughts, even if “the cursed thing will come to mind every minute.”