Northern Sinfonia, The Sage, Gateshead

10:04am Tuesday 24th June 2008

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THE Northern Sinfonia, under the baton of Michal Dwozynski, enthralled a near-capacity audience with a programme of great romantic works.

The event, appropriately themed Summer Romance, opened with Elgar's Serenade for Strings. The sinfonia responded lithely to Dwozynski's prompting, drawing out the lushest of tones. The spacious second movement was allowed to breathe with exquisite tension.

Babes in arms . . . love them to bits, but a concert hall is no place for them. A whimper or two in all the wrong places had more than a few reproachful heads turning.

Next up was sinfonia leader Bradley Creswick, who fronted a dynamite performance of Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1. The soaring and brooding first movement was conveyed with biting bowing, while he extracted every ounce of feeling from the melodic second movement.

The joyful dancing energy of the last movement was driven to an heart-racing conclusion.

Creswick, who was showered with applause, returned after the break with Dvorak's expressive Romance for Violin, a work which showcased his versatility.

In a heartstopping moment another toddler, finished with her bottle of milk announced in an audible whisper: "I want some crisps". Unbelievably, someone close by rummaged around in his bag and handed her a packet.

Thankfully, the evening concluded with a rollicking performance of Brahm's thrilling and vibrant Hungrarian Dances - drowning out most of the crackling and crunching.