Thames Philharmonia, Landmark Arts Centre It is always a treat to hear a full-size orchestra at the Landmark Arts Centre in Teddington. As a large converted church, it provides a well-rounded acoustic for an orchestra that smaller venues never can.

The Thames Philharmonia is an amateur orchestra of a high standard, which makes use of guest soloists to good effect.

Liszt’s symphonic poem, Les Preludes, is probably the most familiar piece, and provided a gentle beginning to the evening. For Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, which was the star piece of the evening for me, the orchestra had invited a very talented young violinist, Sulki Yu, to be guest soloist. For a composer who apparently never visited Scotland,there was a very Scottish feel to its rather brooding beginning led by the horn section, but taking in arrangements of a number of Scottish folk melodies. The skills of Sulki Yu on the violin were self-evident,while the orchestra were by no means left in the shade, with an especially strong performance by the woodwind and the brass.

The third piece of the evening was Sibelius’ Third Symphony. It is a subtler piece than his more famous Finlandia; although is begins dark and pensive, it moves on to a far lighter mood, with the strings performing well as they intertwined with the woodwind.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable evening – the conductor Byung-Yun Yu leads an orchestra of which he can be proud.

John Davey