It would be hard to imagine a more attractive midday programme than that which the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra presented yesterday. Mozart is the cornerstone of four concerts this season in the Elder Hall at the University of Adelaide. This first concert was devised and directed by the ASO’s concertmaster Natsuko Yoshimoto. Ballet was the central theme of her programme.

The ASO seems to have hit on a near-perfect formula: a short programme (this one was just over 65 minutes), without intermission, starting at 11.30am, just before lunchtime. It drew a full house – the seating capacity of Elder Hall is listed as 666 – largely comprising senior citizens, with a smattering of students.  All this might send a message to the Elder management: financial constraints within the University have caused the Conservatorium to reduce their very popular series of lunchtime concerts.

Thirty ASO players took the stage for two movements of the ballet music of from Idomeneo K367. Contrary to custom, the 25-year-old Mozart wrote his own ballet music for the opera, first performed in Munich in January 1841. The ASO performance bustled along with flair and panache, without resorting to the kind of rushed tempi which characterize too many performances...