MULTI-tasking as violinist and violist, while also wielding a baton, Royal Northern Sinfonia’s principal guest conductor Julian Rachlin directed a programme that made for easy listening in his latest appearance at Sage Gateshead.

He opened proceedings in a packed Hall One with an incisive account of Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture - gripping from its violent opening chords to its subdued and tragic ending.

The concert was billed as Rachlin’s Mozart. Playing with an orchestra steeped in the composer's music made for a winning combination. Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 5 in A ‘Turkish’ set off at a sprightly pace, before Rachlin made his entry with an airy gracefulness. He enjoyed a sympathetic partnership with the orchestra, engaging in a seamless and intuitive dialogue.

Rachlin's fiery cadenza explored all possibilities, while the soulful melody of the slow movement was conveyed with heartfelt affection. The playful Turkish passage was a treat.

Opening the second half of evening, Rachlin fronted Max Bruch’s melodic Romance in F-major for viola and orchestra. It was a work considered out out of step with its time when written and has been much-neglected since. Playing with lush and warm tones Rachlin made a fresh case for this pleasing rarity.

The concert concluded with a superbly-shaped performance of Mozart’s Symphony No 36 in C 'Linz;.

The post-concert Spotlight performance, always well-worth waiting for, featured Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff's Concertino for flute, viola, and double bass, fronted by and Elidh Gillespie, James Slater and Sian Hicks, respectively. A complex work, with nostalgic melodies and lively Bohemian dance strains, it served as a perfect musical after-dinner mint.