It was wonderful to be back in this astonishing spectacular hall - it knocks spots of the Musikverein I think, being a little smaller and so one gains a feeling of intimacy even if relatively far from the stage and the colours scheme with the dark green combined with the gold is finer, in my view, than the more traditional combination in the Musikverein.
The chamber orchestra was one of the many first-class musical groups we are lucky enough to have in Budapest and the programme, in terms of musical choices, got better and better.
The opening work - an arrangement by Mahler of a Beethoven string quartet for a string ensemble - was dully pointless. thenwork gained nothing (and in fact lost much) through being so arranged and while it was doubtless very good for the players as all had, essentially, solo parts, the impact of the music was greatly diminished due to the thickly muddy textures that were the inevitable outcome of such as arrangement.
The Bach Dmi ‘piano’ concerto was marvellously performed - but not on a concert grand please, crystal-clear though the soloists articulation was. Much too heavy and resonant a sound.
But the final work - the glorious ‘Trout’ Quintet got everything right. Marvellopely passionate performances with one being able to hear clearly every line and marvel at their richness and variety. I noticed particularly how interesting the bass lines were - truly a partnership of absolute equals.