The Beethoven Violin concerto featured Christian Tetzlaff who had, according to the programme, played it some 280 times - so he had it down to a fine art, playing the gentler parts on the edge of audibility.
The Brahms German Requiem brought in the London Symphony Chorus who had sat at the back to enjoy the Tetzlaff performance. The Brahms is a huge work of seven movements, based on texts from the Lutheran bible and partly in memory of his mother who died in 1865. I must admit I found the piece almost claustrophobic and although the orchestra and choir were very accomplished I came to feel that it was almost all too much, lasting, as it did, a good hour. The spots for the soprano (Sally Matthews) and Baritone (Matthias Goerne) were quite small, especially the former who appeared in just one movement.
Interestingly reviews I read also got on better with the Beethoven than the Brahms of this concerts
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