Concert at St. Martin in the Fields

The school took the string players on a trip today to hear the New London Soloists' Orchestra and the Allegri String Quartet play at St. Martin in the Fields tonight - I just got back. The programme included Eine Kleine Nachtmusic and one of the Salzburg divertimenti by W. A. Mozart, Elgar's Serenade for Strings and Introduction and Allegro, two string movements from Henry V by Walton, and Vaughan Williams' Variations on a Theme by Tallis. All the pieces were played with extreme accuracy and excellent intonation, but I felt that the Mozart in particular felt a little tired. In contrast, the Introduction and Allegro was fantastic, really captivating. What particular amused me was that in some pieces the orchestra seemed to just be playing the music pretty much without thinking about it, and the conductor was almost surplus to requirements, whereas in others he was clearly having to work very hard. Niggles aside, it was one of the best concerts I've been to for a while.