Daniel roth organist gigout toccata in b

Symphony Hall, Birmingham
23rd February

Daniel Roth is one of those recitalists who impress more by solid technique than overt virtuosity. His musical credentials are impeccable enough: after all he studied with Marie-Claire Alain and Maurice Durufl� at the Paris Conservatory, and as the present titular organist at Saint Sulpice has inherited the legacies of his two most famous predecessors Widor and Dupr�.

Despite that one couldn't help feeling that a concert given the title �Toccata!� should perhaps have delivered more than it suggested.

Apart from an occasional rhythmic wobble and hiccup in articulation there was nothing really wrong with Roth's execution of the various toccatas and toccata-style pieces, all dating from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, by Parisian organist-composers.

But his playing, though extremely stylish and authentically decked out in French livery (the tonal resources of Symphony Hall's Klais never cease to amaze), often lacked full-blown fiz