THE Lakeland Sinfonia's concert in the Westmorland Hall was not a total success. This was not the fault of the orchestral players who, in the main, performed valiantly under difficult circumstances.

Firstly, due to adverse weather conditions, one rehearsal had to be cancelled and so the occasional miscalculation was viewed sympathetically.

Then there was the programme itself. To have two orchestral works by Schumann and a Schubert symphony meant that three-quarters of the evening's entertainment was devoted to 19th century sounds.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong in that, but because Schumann is not the most inspired orchestrator and Schubert's use of the orchestra is, in very broad terms, similar, everybody in the hall was ready for - and revelled in - the expressive and exuberant sounds of Malcolm Arnold's Serenade, unexpectedly the final item of the evening.

Simon Wright now drew from his charges a brilliant display of virtuosity, especially in the third movement I have rarely heard the orchestra play with such panache.

Earlier, after a rather prosaic account of Schumann's Overture, Scherzo and Finale in which, generally speaking, the players could do little to enhance the composer's innate scoring difficulties, Thomas Carroll gave a thoroughly convincing performance of the same composer's Cello Concerto.

Possessing a rich, warm tone, he imparted true Romantic fervour to this unfamiliar work.

The Sinfonia supported him well throughout a demanding task. Schubert's 3rd Symphony followed and, despite one heart-stopping moment, contained some of the best playing of the evening until the Arnold!

Brian Paynes.