Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes - Britten

Poeme de l'amour et de la mer - Chausson

Scheherazade - Rimsky-Korsakov

Belfast-born kenneth Montgomery is an experienced conductor of opera, as well as symphonic music, and for ten years was artistic director of Opera Northern Ireland. Yesterday evening at the National Concert Hall he conducted the National Symphony Orchestra, and in two out of the three pieces on the programme he seemed focused on the music's dramatic possibilities.

Drama is dependent on timing, context and contrast. This concert was brimming with contrast; but timing and context were problematic, for there was no relenting in the way Montgomery pointed up events.

This created no problems with some of the music. Indeed, it served the layered, highly-differentiated textures of "Dawn", from Britten's Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, rather well, and "Storm" was exhilarating.

Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheher- azade had its moments, too. But they were just that. One longed for the occasional slackening of tension, especially in links between sections, and even more so in the third movement, which was too hard-driven to capture amorous delight.

Many sections in the outer movements had intense, visceral energy, thanks to the NSO's strongly-coloured playing and sweeping rhythm. There were many good solos, too, especially Elaine Clark's supple violin playing. It was a pity that none of these virtues could make their full impact.

Chausson's Poeme de l'am our et de la mer received the most well-rounded performance of the evening. Colette McGahon (soprano) resisted every temptation to milk expression in this elegantlysumptuous music. She sang it as it is - a musical declamation with orchestral backdrop. In Kenneth Montgomery and the NSO she had partners who were responsive to her textdriven shaping of Chausson's music, which is memorable more for its atmosphere than its ideas.