Caucasian Chamber Orchestra

There are three words that send chills of panic through my body - "contemporary classical music". I have another name for it, of course.

But this week we were treated to another of those occasional concerts in the parliament that cheer us up so much.

We were treated to a performance by the Caucasian Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble of mostly Georgian and Armenian musicians conducted by a hugely talented German, Uwe Berkemer.

The first piece did fall into the dreaded contemporary genre, and I felt the will to live begin to sap a little, but it was short. The rest of the concert could only be described as superb. One can always tell when the musicians are enjoying themselves, and that was very much the case here. The works were all totally unknown to me, as were the names of their composers, which added to the pleasure.

Berkemer turned out to be not only a talented composer and conductor, but also an impressive baritone.

If you ever get the chance to see this orchestra, I strongly recommend that you do so.