There wasn’t a spare seat in The Anvil for this red-letter concert on Wednesday night (June 7).

In a huge coup for Basingstoke, three-star soloists and the Philharmonia Orchestra under Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali gave a concert no one who was there will forget. A dream team of Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Nicola Benedetti (violin) and Benjamin Grosvenor (piano) joined forces in the first half to perform the Triple Concerto by Beethoven, a piece not often heard live.

The three soloists showed razor-sharp interplay in the grand first movement and combined beautifully in the gentle slower section.

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In the final movement, all three soloists were clearly enjoying themselves enormously, and their infectious good humour spread to everyone present. The audience's reaction was ecstatic.

After the interval, it was the orchestra’s turn to be showcased in Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) by Richard Strauss. From the very first bars, these talented musicians showed themselves to be on top form.

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Strauss mischievously portrays the composer as the hero, making his reputation, finding true love, battling critics and finally settling down to a quiet and productive life. The score makes incredible demands on all sections of the orchestra, and each one rose to the challenges wonderfully. Rouvali’s conducting is somehow relaxed and yet very precise at the same time, and the complex work was superbly realised.  

“It’s so great to be back in this wonderful hall,” said Nicola Benedetti, introducing an encore after the Beethoven, a charming arrangement by Fritz Kreisler of Danny Boy.

She returns in September to open the next Anvil concert season, announced last week, this time in the Brahms Violin Concerto.