Resident RSNO violinist Maya Iwabuchi’s Brahms showed impressive attention to detail without ever grandstanding, but it was a second half of Finnish delights that brought out the best from an in-form Emilia Hoving.

As is a given for all great works of classical music, the critics detested Brahms’ sole Violin Concerto on its debut in Leipzig in 1879. The problem was not so much in Brahms’ harmonic choices or melodies, but in the fundamental structure of the entire concerto, which saw the orchestra often take unorthodox prominence, nabbing many a fine refrain that would usually be within the remit of the soloist. The Emperor’s Kappelmeister Josef Helmesberger famously called it a concerto “not for, but against the violin”. Violin virtuoso Pable de Sarasate simply refused to “fall so low” as to “stand on the rostrum, violin in hand and listen to the oboe playing the only tune in the adagio”.

Luckily RSNO’s longtime lead violinist Maya Iwabuchi has no such qualms in playing what is now considered to be one of the all-time great violin concertos, even though Brahms’ (relatively) understated style means Iwabuchi gets less chance to display crowdpleasing virtuosity as she might with some Beethoven or Tchaikovsky. Still, it’s not exactly a walk in the park. Tonight she’s most impressive rippling through the finger-numbingly tricky double stopping at the end of the first movement, the percussive force of her bow gaining momentum with every stroke.

Brahms’ unusual non-emphasis on the violin results in a work that calls for a humble soloist – an attempt at showy flourishes could easily turn this into a battle between violinist and orchestra which neither side can hope to win – and tonight Iwabuchi fits the bill perfectly, not so much playing on top of the orchestra in the lyrical middle movement as melting into it. Just before it threatens to feel a little too businesslike, she throws herself into the propulsive Hungarian dance of the closing Allegro, only pausing to tear off the stay hairs on her bow. For movements as fun and vivacious as this one, if your bow isn’t falling apart by the end of it you’re clearly not playing it hard enough.

Finnish conductor Emilia Hoving takes the limelight for the second half, with a convincing showcase of two of her country’s finest composers. First came Kaija Saariaho’s Ciel d’Hiver, a piece that seems to be in vogue lately – I first saw the Royal Northern Sinfonia perform it in Gateshead just last year. Compared to RNS’s Dinis Sousa, Hoving’s direction pushes the avant garde elements even further, leaning into brass so dissonant it seems to be emanating from the inner recesses of your brain. This is an amped-up Ciel d’Hiver, Saariaho’s depiction of the Nordic winter light dazzling through the twinkling percussion and bone-chilling sliding violins.

Its no wonder the Finnish-classical specialist Hoving also conjures up a wondrous Sibelius Sixth Symphony – she is a graduate of the renowned Sibelius Academy in Helsinki after all, mentored by the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Sakari Oramo. Unlike Brahms, Sibelius saw no need for a symphony to ‘win’ in the end with triumphant fanfare, preferring instead, as Andrew Mellor writes, to leave the symphonic circle unclosed. Tonight Hoving’s intelligent reading of the Sixth understands this – there is no great drama here, just an enchanting wander deeper and deeper into a wintry woodland of shimmering strings and twittering flutes. It all flows like water, in particular the limpid fourth movement, which refreshingly lays this concert to rest without the need to start hammering any tubular bells. It concluded an enchanting adventure into a sonic winter wonderland – if only my return to the real Storm Boelo outside could feel so magical.

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