The Sunday afternoon clientele may be predominantly silver haired but they are never afraid to show unbridled enthusiasm for their beloved BPO and guest performers.

However, the rapturous and instant applause at the end of Beethoven's No 7 has to be the most heartfelt and spontaneous given during my Dome experience and how deserving it was.

Music director Barry Wordsworth wrote in his programme notes that along with just a handful of other works (notably Tchaikovsky's 4th), it has the potential to bring the house down and it did exactly that.

Wordsworth gave it his all and was well supported by his talented troops as the majestic piece roared to its glorious finale.

If that had to be the main course, the hors d'oeuvre were pretty tasty too, with the BPO's own Christine Messiter coming front of stage for Bach's Suite No 2 for Flute and Strings, while Stephanie Gonley gave her excellent rendition of master Mozart's Violin Concerto No 4.

The BPO are blessed to have such gifted principals as the likes of John Bradbury (leader), Messiter (flute) and Alun Darbyshire (oboe), amongst others, and this was a concert where they had a chance to shine.

Messiter's freelance pedigree is distinguished and fronting 22 strings, plus Wordsworth going back to his roots by conducting from the harpsichord, the gifted flautist gave a memorable performance of Bach's seven-movement piece, the most familiar of which must be the final one, the Badinerie.

Guest violinist Gonley was also masterful in her interpretation of the Mozart classic.

The leader, soloist and director of the English Chamber Orchestra held nothing back and shook the foundations of the Dome before the second-half offering did bring the house down

What a pity Argus journalist and arts reviewer Mike Howard, in whose memory this concert was dedicated, was not there to pick through the rubble in his own inimitable style.

This concert will be a hard act to follow but the next in the season on March 1 provides an interesting offering as the 200th anniversary of the birth of Felix Mendelssohn is celebrated with performances of his Violin Concerto in E Minor and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Both are classics although some of the latter's pieces are better known than others.

Young violinist Soojin Han is the soloist, while well known actress Joanna David will then take the audience through the drama of a piece she chose as one of her "Private Passions" in the eponymous Radio 3 programme.


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