Berlin Philharmonic/Petrenko review – insightful Elgar and Tchaikovsky holds Proms audience in thrall

Royal Albert Hall, London Elgar’s Enigma Variations sounded fresh and striking in the German orchestra’s reading, while Tchaikovsky’s fourth symphony was thrilling and monumental Is the Berlin Philharmonic the best orchestra in the world ? Quite possibly.

The only potential disappointment about the first of their two Proms under their chief conductor Kirill Petrenko was that there were just two works. Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 4 made an insightful pairing, though, sharing an…