Showing @ City Halls, Glasgow, Thu 3 Nov – run ended

The deaths of two historical figures portrayed by two French composers formed the first half of this BBC SSO concert. Debussy wrote the incidental music to Gabriele d’Annunzio’s drama Le Martyre de Saint Sébastian, which was initially banned by the Archbishop of Paris because of its ambiguous treatment of the subject matter. The Symphonic Fragments from the piece convey a languid, humid atmosphere through which shimmering bells emerge – foreshadowing the soundworld of Respighi. As Sebastian faces death from his own archers, he has a vision of the Good Shepherd and the tone once again brightens. This piece was a real discovery.

Berlioz, too, had trouble with the Parisian authorities, this time the French Institute, which failed on three out of four occasions to award him the Prix de Rome. One ‘failed’ entry was La Mort de Cléopâtre, performed here by mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose, resplendent in sparkling red and black. The BBC SSO attacked the piece full-on, providing Donose with the necessary foundation, particularly through some superb string playing, on which to build a riveting performance. She may not have had quite enough power in the lower register but she totally inhabited the role of the humiliated Egyptian queen.

Julian Anderson’s Eden of 2005 employed an unconventional tuning system, the viola and cello taking the lead in a contemporary reimagining of Renaissance viol tunes, before the whole orchestra passed single notes among themselves to create tunes in an updated version of a composition style known as hocketing. At one point peals of seemingly out-of-tune bells rang out, giving the impression that some church towers had been built a bit too close together. An intriguing piece, and one that would reward further listening.

BBC SSO Principal Guest Conductor Ilan Volkov concluded the concert with Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2 in a performance that was warm-blooded and affectionate, featuring some fruity harrumphs from the double basses and tuba as they underpinned the big patriotic tune in the final movement, and a suitably fervent and uplifting final few pages that were greeted with a richly deserved ovation.