The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is a world renowned, London-based chamber orchestra, formed in 1958 under the supervision of Neville Marriner, a violinist who became the group’s Music Director and conductor. That role was passed on to the American violinist Joshua Bell in 2011, and this was our first chance to hear him with the ensemble in Australia (although he toured here in 2013 as a soloist). This, their second concert in as many nights, consisted of a Classical period programme: Mozart’s Symphony No 25 and Violin Concerto No 4, followed by Beethoven’s Symphony No 3, the Eroica.

^{Joshua Bell and Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Photos © Ken Leanfore}

The ASMF strings, led from the first desk by the vigorous Bell, were notable for their precision, and unanimity of articulation and expression. Their incisive attack and swift tempos suggested an influence of period performance practice, although there were also highly expressive moments: I liked the deliberate broadening of tempo for the oboe’s theme in the first movement of Symphony No 25. This symphony, known as the...