91Èȱ¬

Perhaps my title is slightly misleading - it was a blink and you'll miss it moment - but I had several bars to play on my own during the 91Èȱ¬ National Orchestra of Wales' live broadcast for Radio 3.

Had I taken leave of my senses, ran to the front of the orchestra, booted the soloist out of the way and launched into a little flight of fancy? Of course not (though I have often pondered what would happen if someone did do something like that). The reason for my moment in the limelight was our performance of Strauss' utterly sublime Metamorphosen.

To say that I had a solo is actually a gross exaggeration; scored for 23 solo strings, 23 of us had solos. Composed in the closing months of the World War Two, the concept behind, and indeed the inspiration for Metamorphosen has been rather fiercely debated by scholars over the years, with some very controversial opinions and assumptions coming to light.

Strauss himself never revealed what the work was about nor what the significance of the 'in memorium' inscription is. However, it is widely accepted that the work was partially a response to the devastation Strauss saw wrecked upon his homeland during the war, in particular, Munich, to which he had such a close attachment. In addition to this, few would miss the not so subtle homage to Beethoven in the close moments of the work.

All I can truly tell you is that, as a player, this is a beautiful work to play. There is such richness in the complexity of Strauss' counterpoint. Lines join other lines, only to take their departure and intertwine with another. It is immensely satisfying to play. There is such intricacy in the texture the music could easily sound like a one giant brush stroke of sound, but conductor Thomas Dausgaard was fabulous at taking the music apart and bringing out the important lines.

Metamorphosen was followed by Mahler's Rückert Lieder with 91Èȱ¬ New Generation Artist Ben Johnson as soloist. The second half was Sibelius' Fourth Symphony which I have decided I like very much, even if it is a bit odd.

I think it worth a mention that Metamorphosen was part of the Cardiff Sacher Series, our collaboration with Cardiff University. The series will run the whole way through until June, and is a celebration and exploration of works dedicated to, commissioned by and premiered by Swiss conductor, patron, impresario and all round artistic behemoth Paul Sacher. I had never heard of him prior to the beginning of this season, but he is quite a fascinating character.

Our series on him will include performances of works such as Stravinsky's Concerto in D (Basle Concerto), Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste and the symphonic work derived from Hindemith's opera, Die Harmonie der Welt. Without Sacher's commitment to the arts during some of Europe's darkest days of the 20th century it is possible that many of our most loved works from the period would not have come into being.