A warhorse and a war horse. It’s a pretty feeble joke, but you could use the line to describe Oxford Symphony Orchestra’s repertoire at their latest concert — Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony was followed by Richard Strauss’s tone poem Don Quixote, in which the Don imagines himself to be a medieval knight. At one point, he actually gets knocked off his horse in a blaze of orchestral colour.

This incident, and much else besides, was brought out in the OSO’s committed performance under their musical director, Robert Max. There were many memorable touches along the way — the sound swelling and dying away again as a group of chanting penitents passes by, for instance, and the pizzicato water drips pinging down as the Don sits, miserably drying out after his boat capsizes. A cello soloist presents a character study of the Don, “the Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance”. In the hands of soloist Tim Hugh, this knight was indeed sorrowful at times, and also given to bouts of reflective introspection. But he also displayed flashes of humour, and a great deal of sturdy determination. In support, viola soloist Catherine Musker proved an ideal, more gentle, foil. Altogether this was a kaleidoscopic, engrossing performance, reflecting much credit on all concerned.

Because it’s surely the best-known symphony ever composed, it is difficult to prevent Beethoven’s Fifth from sounding hackneyed. From the instantly recognisable “di, di, di, dah” opening, conductor Max developed a muscular, yet spacious reading of the score. He visibly transmitted much energy from the podium to the players, often obtaining a strong response. Particularly effective were the contrasts between martial themes and dreamy interludes in the second movement, and a colossal climax as the third movement flows into the finale without a break. This performance didn’t always reach the heights achieved in the Strauss, but Max never let the work become dull or hackneyed.