Violinist Andrew Haveron, violist Tobias Breider, cellist Umberto Clerici and pianist Daniel de Borah presented Hobartians with a wonderful program of chamber music filled with dark passion, virtuosity, romance and sheer exuberance.

Mozart’s Piano Quartet No 1 in G Minor opened the concert. The first movement is the emotional centre of the work, with a stormy opening followed by much of the dark intimacy Mozart’s use of G minor is famous for. This was an elegant performance, with a beautiful sense of Classical style: the explosive passions always constrained by the form. The piano is the lynchpin of the ensemble in this work, and de Borah executed all the challenges with seeming ease and remarkable clarity. The ensemble between the musicians was seamless, with some unexpected but effective rhythmic nuances giving the performance character and space. I would love to have heard more viola throughout – there is a difficulty with chamber works with piano in this hall. The most beautiful playing can vanish in the texture, and the viola suffered from this somewhat.

There were no such issues with the wonderful Dohnányi Serenade. The balance of the three strings was impeccable, with each...