It’s harder to praise than to condemn. But I should say a word for the Royal Philharmonic under Daniele Gatti, who turned in a highly creditable performance of Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony last Friday evening. This was one of the first pieces of classical music I ever encountered and I can still remember the mind-expanding effects of the finale. Few other pieces have ever had a similar effect on first listening: Mendelssohn’s Octet did something similar, as did the finale to Beethoven’s 7th Symphony (but don’t get me started on Beethoven), and the forceful, brooding opening of Mozart’s 40th Symphony. Then there’s Rhapsody in Blue, Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony, and – in a perhaps slightly different fashion – Strayhorn’s Take the A Train played by Ellington. Some music does that: instant recognition, instant certainty that this piece will be a lifetime’s enthusiasm. Others grow more slowly in one’s consciousness: for instance Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony has eclipsed the 4th in my estimation recently, though it’s less accessible.