WOKING Symphony Orchestra gave us another excellent concert consisting of Romantic Music on Saturday 24 March.  This orchestra, which has been delighting Woking’s music lovers since 1897, began their programme with a spirited performance of Brahms’s Tragic Overture.

The concerto choice this time was an unusual one – the Concerto for Oboe and SmallOrchestra by Richard Strauss (written after a suggestion he had accepted from a US soldier who contacted him after WWII and who just happened to be a fine oboist).  Richard Lines-Davies played the solo part and astounded the audience with his fluidity of tone and his dexterity in the many virtuosic passages.

The second half of the concert was devoted to Sibelius’ 2nd Symphony.  This was a performance by WSO that was certainly one of their best, if not the best to date.  This symphony involves a great deal of support from the brass section, which was admirably given with rip-roaring tuba and trumpet contributions.  The cellos held a magnificently accurate rhythm at the beginning of the 2nd movement, and the strings played with all the passion that the work demands, all superbly coordinated by Conductor, Roy Stratford.

The Orchestra’s next outing will be on 23 June, when Music from the Movies will be on offer.