SALISBURY Sinfonia finished its 2014/15 concert season with a typically inspired choice of programming, combining Beethoven’s violin concerto with two comparatively rare ballet scores. Beethoven’s overture for The Creatures of Prometheus is sometimes performed in concert, but it is a rare delight to hear the other extracts.

Stravinsky’s Orpheus is a world away from Beethovenian passion, its spare neoclassical structure leaving nowhere for conductor or players to hide. The orchestra rose to the challenge superbly in a poised and beautiful performance, with some fine ensemble playing. Conductor Tim Murray held the whole piece in perfect balance, creating an atmosphere of haunting melancholy without compromising the disciplined formality of the score. The evening ended with Beethoven concerto, heroically and wonderfully played by local violinist Marian Givens. with great pace and drama, quite brilliant articulation and a beautiful sense of line, particularly in the spacious tranquility of the second movement. The balance between orchestra and soloist was impeccable (no mean feat in St Thomas’s generous acoustic) and there was a real sense of communication between the two in a performance of great warmth and colour. There were some lovely solo contributions from the orchestra – I particularly enjoyed Matthew Dodd’s elegant and witty bassoon solos! Tim Murray conducted splendidly throughout, passionate and precise in equal measure, from the dramatic overture to the joyful enthusiasm of the finale which left us all uplifted and delighted.

Lindsay Bramley