SCO & François Leleux - Gounod (Live) - The Times

My favourite was Gounod’s Petite symphonie, written for nine wind soloists, which Leleux directed from the oboist’s chair. The music is a total delight, its beautiful opening sounding like a sublime swelling of bellows before bubbling into a gently upbeat dance, followed by a gorgeous slow movement with a solo flute line floating aloft.

This piece enabled Leleux to connect with his wind-playing background while collaborating with the orchestra as first among equals. Something quite special takes over when a set of musicians like this play without a conductor: overt direction is replaced by collective telepathy and, when it goes right, a little dusting of magic.