THE mere mention of Stravinsky, let alone anything more contemporary, seems to ensure a small audience at The Sage Gateshead.

Preferring the certitudes of the Romantics, most classical lovers seem to run a mile when faced with a challenge. So it was no surprise that the latest concert with The Northern Sinfonia drew only a small band of devotees.

Which is sad, for the guest conductor, HK Gruber, was not only a leading exponent of Stravinsky, but also made his elegant music accessible in a refreshing way.

The programme, opening with Ragtime for 11 instruments, showcased the considerable talent of Sinfonia members. Ed Cervanka, on the cimbalon, did a perfect take of a honky-tonk piano.

Stravinsky was framed by contemporary works on the theme of war.

Mark Anthony-Turnage’s The Torn Fields takes a journey through the trenches of the Western front in the words of eminent poets.

Baritone Jeremy Huw Williams conveyed the verse with utter conviction and depth, from the mordant A Son, by Rudyard Kipling, to the anger of Isaac Rosenberg’s The Immortals.

Relief came in Stravinsky’s Concertino for Twelve Instruments. A six-minute jewel, in which some wonderful lines were provided by sinfonia leader Bradley Creswick.

John Adams’ Wound Dresser, based on the work of Walt Whitman, is an account of the gore and death the author experienced as a nurse in the American Civil War.

The evening ended with a tightly-wrought account of Stravinsky’s Suite from Pulcinella. Gruber was in his element and the audience loved it. A loss for those who didn’t make it.