famous by someone else. Tougher still when only three snippets are being sung, inevitably out of context of the opera as a whole. However, Finnish-Canadian soprano Eilana Lappalainen seemed to have no qualms in tackling three arias from Cherubini’s savage Médée, a work forever associated with Maria Callas. E che? lo son Médée was the most arresting, with Lappalainen producing plenty of power as she spat out the words. She didn’t quite manage the pure venom of Callas, but then who can?

Before the arias, the Oxford Philomusica played two Cherubini overtures, Lodoïska and the overture to Médée itself. Both lull you into a sense of false security, with a leisurely start before the music whips into a frenzy. Guest conductor Peter Tiboris drummed up lots of dramatic expression and emotion from Cherubini’s scores, albeit sometimes at the expense of pin-sharp ensemble playing from the orchestra.

The second half of the concert was a completely different kettle of fish in every way. Conductor Tiboris, now working without a score in front of him, seemed liberated by Tchaikovsky’s relaxed and optimistic fifth symphony. While the symphony opens with a haunting, mournful clarinet melody (beautifully played by Lorraine Schulman and Julian Farrell), much of the music is in warm, major-key mode. Tiboris drew an open, transparent sound from the Philomusica (not always an easy thing to do in the Sheldonian), and expertly judged the underlying march tempi, so that woodwind solo passages had time to breathe.

The fifth is not without Tchaikovsky’s trademark periods of desire and passion, and these, too, were well marked, as were the blazing brass highlights – the orchestra’s brass section was in particularly exuberant form. Throughout, ensemble was tight and controlled. “Bravo!” shouted Philomusica music director Marios Papadopoulos, sitting near me in the audience, at the end of the performance. Quite right too.