…The Philharmonia is regarded as one of the world’s great orchestras and arguably this country’s finest. This was evidenced in the richness of tone in the first few bars played. Throughout, Japanese conductor Joji Hattori drew from his forces disciplined playing with strict observance of dynamics and tempi. Rossini’s overture to The Barber of Seville opened the evening. He simply took this one “off the shelf” and substituted it. It has been a great favourite ever since. Hattori took it at a crisp pace with each orchestral section contributing to the vivacious spirit of the work. Saturday’s final work on the programme, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 6 in B minor – Pathetique, is the musical outpouring of an emotionally-disturbed genius. Wisely Hattori did not wallow in the many emotional passages, but nevertheless brought out all the drama of the work. Such was the impact of the penultimate movement that the audience released its knotted up tension with a spontaneous round of applause. After the finale another resounding ovation demonstrated how we, in Norfolk, show our appreciation of a great performance…