Dramatic Shostakovich and tender Tchaikovsky from Orchestra of the Swan

David Le Page's The Interpretation of Dreams did not, sadly, live up to the trailer. 

The Orchestra of the Swan and David Curtis are on a mission to rescue the reputation of Mozart's alleged rival and tormentor.

Two individually strong musical components met in this Czech field trip, but will they connect to form something new?

David Curtis displayed his usual deceptively effortless ease on the podium. Perhaps this felt like a handy warm-up for the marathon that he would run, hard on the heels of this concert, in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Orchestra of the Swan’s home territory.

After weeks of foul weather, this was more like it. Proper sunshine for a summer festival. Around Hereford Cathedral, watched over by a statue of Elgar draped in a fresh laurel wreath, Three Choirs Festival-goers enjoyed the warmth before venturing inside for equally sunny music. Even the yellow flowers framing the stage carried through the theme, setting off the golden centre-stage harp.

The Orchestra of the Swan and David Curtis are on a mission to rescue the reputation of Mozart's alleged rival and tormentor.