Music / Chamber Philharmonia Cologne – Sergey Didorenko, solo violin, Dmitrij Gornowskij, solo cello. At St Christopher’s Cathedral, Manuka, February 28. Reviewed by LEN POWER.

With its motto, Classical Music Around the World, Chamber Philharmonia Cologne presented a charming program of works by much-loved composers.

Solos in the works of Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Peter Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms and Niccoló Paganini were played by the German virtuosos Sergey Didorenko, violin, and Dmitrij Gornowskij, cello.

Didorenko was born in Ukraine and after training in Moscow, he moved to Germany where he is now a German citizen and permanent soloist with the Chamber Philharmonia Cologne. He has also published two books on philosophy.

Gornowskij was born and trained in Kazakhstan, winning many prizes for his playing. He has lived in Germany since 1997 and is now a German citizen. He performs as a soloist and in orchestras and chamber ensembles. He is one of the founding members of Chamber Philharmonia Cologne.

The group started with Vivaldi’s well-known Winter from his Four Seasons concerto. Didorenko played the solo violin part. It was a vibrant, highly atmospheric performance that evoked strong, clear images of that most dramatic of seasons.

This was followed by a second Vivaldi work, Concerto in A minor for violoncello and strings. In three movements, the solo parts were played by Gornowskij, cello.

The bright, melodic allegro was followed by a deeply reflective largo with the sensitive solo playing of Gornowskij. The final allegro movement was given a busy and exciting performance.

Mozart’s well-known and much-loved A Little Night Music (Serenade in G major for string orchestra), was then played in a colourful performance of great clarity.

After the interval, Gornowskij led the group with a fine performance of Tchaikovsky’s Pezzo Capriccioso. Their playing brought out all of the expressiveness and varying moods of this work. They followed it with a scherzo from Brahms’ F-A-E Sonata. The F-A-E stands for Frei Aber Einsam (free but lonely) and their atmospheric playing of this piece was very enjoyable.

The final work on the program was Paganini’s Capriccio in an arrangement for violin and string orchestra. Paganini, of course, was well-known for his virtuoso playing of the violin and Didorenko showed his ability with the instrument in fiery solos that were breathlessly exciting.

With an encore performance of Edward Elgar’s Salut D’Amour, this dreamy work brought the concert by these excellent musicians to a close.