Conductor Libor Pesek, whose days with the Liverpool orchestra brought such a warm ovation when he first appeared on stage, is a throwback to yesteryear when orchestral soloists were granted the freedom that allowed the woodwinds to phrase with such poetic feeling, sensitivity and imagination.

Yet it was the golden glow and strength of the upper strings that made the concert memorable. The opening work, Mozart's overture to his opera Don Giovanni, was neat and full of dynamic details that are often skimmed over.

Moving from his position as the lead cellist in the Prague Symphony, Milos Jahoda showed his deep affection for Dvorak's Cello Concerto in the way he moulded the long drawn lines of the central movement. Elsewhere, he had a tendency to rush at technical hurdles, intonation being the main casualty.

I missed the feeling of transcendental beauty that in great performances consume the work's final coda.

Royal Hall, Harrogate