THE ROYAL Northern Sinfonia, divided into bite-sized chunks to tour the region with the Nordic Summer Nights series, set off with a feast of music at Sage Gateshead.

The programme opened with a gorgeous rendition of Mozart’s Flute Quartet No 3 in C major. Flautist Alena Walentin played with poise, her silvery tones blending seamlessly with the strings. Bursting with freshness, the players relished the variations and enjoyed an organic repartee.

Carl Nielsen’s Wind Quintet had its genesis in a phone call the composer made to a friend, where the Copenhagen Wind Quintet were rehearsing a Mozart piece in the background.

Intrigued, he immediately went around to listen for himself and was inspired to write the piece that now sits at the core of the wind repertoire. Nielsen wrote not only for the character of each instrument, but for the personality of each player.

They were brought vividly to life, in fluid soliloquies and busy chattering harmonies. Highlights included duets in the menuet between clarinettist Jessica Lee and bassoonist Lawrence O’ Donnell and between Walentin and oboeist Michael O’Donnell. The whole was underpinned by the warm tones of horn player Peter Francomb.

He in turn went on to shine in Mozart’s Horn Quintet in E flat major, with the shifting textures of the strings providing a perfect balance.

Nielsen’s String Quartet in G minor was written when he was 23, as he began to develop his distinctive musical voice. The strings under Alexandra Raikhlina played with energy and bite, in an infectious account that brought out youthful impetuousity of the work.

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