Bolton School Arts Centre THIS was an evening of masterful composition that was beautifully performed.

The star of this show had to be Beethoven himself, with the intracacies of his works played out to a full house.

It is breathtaking to consider the great composer's much documented deafness when you are listening to glorious symphonies he penned.

The performance began with a soothing and sonorous rendition of Beethoven's overture Creatures of Prometheus, taken from the ballet of the same name.

A relatively short passage of music, it provided the perfect taster for even greater things to come after the interval.

Before the break, soloist Jacquleine Tinniswood gave a dazzling display of technical brilliance on the piano during Michael Tippet's Fantasia on a Theme of Handel.

This accomplished musician clearly relished the challenges of the piece, which the composer himself recognised as being "quite tough".

The highlight of the night had to be the Sinfonietta's performance of Beethoven's stunning Symphony Number Five in C Minor.

From the start with those first famed four notes, the audience was spellbound.

Under the energetic leadership of music director Paul Payton the musicians, mostly amateurs, attacked it with controlled vigour and feeling.

The triumphant finale brought rousing applause for a thoroughly enjoyable musical feast. DAVE ROBERTS

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