This performance was part of both the Brisbane Festival and the Queensland Conservatorium’s Side-By-Side series, which pairs student musicians with visiting ensembles. Here, the visiting ensemble was the LA Philharmonic Wind Quintet (Denis Bouriakov, flute; Marc Lachat, oboe; Boris Allakhverdyan, clarinet; Andrew Bain, horn; Whitney Crockett, bassoon). Being members of the LA Phil means, of course, they’re all at the top of their game, and together they’re ferociously good.

LA Phil Wind Quintet. Photo supplied

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way, or rather, the lack of one. This was perhaps one of the most sparsely attended concerts I’ve seen in a long time (the space was maybe one-quarter full), and I think the reason can be pointed squarely at the fact that only a handful of the advertising for this concert listed what was actually being played. The Brisbane Festival website didn’t, neither did QTIX, but the Queensland Conservatorium website did – albeit several links and clicks away. It’s a pity, because this was otherwise quite an interesting line-up of pieces.

The performance opened with Bouriakov as soloist in Mozart’s first Flute Quartet....