Classical review: RSNO, Edinburgh Usher Hall

The kilt appeared in the second half of a farewell concert that had laughs, tears (Denève’s) and musical thrills in abundance – a programme deliberately representative of his current transition as a Frenchman relinquishing his Scots post in favour of his new musical directorship in Germany.

Thus the heady musical cocktail of James MacMillan’s Britannia, Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel and, as a monumental send off, Ravel’s complete ballet score Daphnis et Chloé, all of which saw Denève in super-animated and, in some cases, mischievous form. For there is nothing straight-laced about MacMillan’s musical tirade, a cacophony of familiar tunes that send up Elgar, the national anthem and the Scottish predilection with sticking two fingers up at the English, with the help of taxi horns and other noisy paraphernalia.