THE London Bridge Ensemble is a chamber group with a difference – its members are all young and good-looking. And, more to the point, Benjamin Nabarro (violin), Tom Dunn (viola), Kate Gould (cello) and Daniel Tong (piano) are international-class instrumentalists as this superb concert illustrated.

The Piano Quartet in E Flat Major, Op 47, which Robert Schumann wrote in 1842, provided them with a perfect opportunity to show their virtuosity. The same composer's most famous song cycle Dichterliebe 'The Poet's Love" Op 48, a setting of Heinrich Heine's Lyrisches Intermezzo, was sung by powerful baritone Ivan Ludlow, who demonstrated a purity of style and elegance of phrasing, perfect for its semantic and melodic subtleties.

Johannes Brahms began his moody Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op 60 in 1855. The most lovely phase was undoubtedly the andante, notes of pure gold resonating from Gould's cello before, almost as an afterthought, the violin and viola extended the sublime melody which we took home with us.
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