Stefan Dohr has been described as the King of the Horn and one of the finest French horn players of our time. Little wonder that the Festival’s Artistic Director Jack Liebeck has capitalised on the presence of this remarkable player by curating a concert to celebrate his talent.

This event presents chamber works in which the horn is featured prominently. York Bowen’s romantic Quintet for Horn and Strings was brushed under the carpet for decades. Written in 1927, it was dismissed as unfashionable and unadventurous.

Stefan Dohr. Photo © Simon Pauly

Nowadays, Bowen’s Quintet is hailed as a gem of the horn repertoire and in this recital it proves an excellent vehicle for Stefan Dohr to reveal his glorious tone, sublime phrasing and insightful interpretative vision. Performed with the Australian String Quartet – Dale Barltrop and Francesca Hiew on violin, Chris Cartlidge on viola and Michael Dahlenburg on cello – who also distinguish themselves, this concert is a crowd pleaser.

Apparently, the scores for the programmed Dance of the Wooden Sticks by Isidora Žebeljan never arrived. Instead, Dohr performs Interstellar Call, the sixth movement from Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux étoiles…. It’s...