One of the great opportunities afforded to audiences attending a chamber music festival, such as Musica Viva’s, is the chance to hear combinations of artists who wouldn’t otherwise perform together. As if in a musical laboratory, sometimes these collaborations chance upon a magical chemistry, but on other occasions a group of musicians, arbitrarily bolted together, can result in something akin to Frankenstein’s monster, with disparate personalities unable to cohere and a lack of synergy smearing the clarity of the music. For this final concert of the 2015 Musica Viva Festival, featuring two specially formed ensembles from this year’s roster of invited musicians, we would experience both of the afore mentioned examples.

In addition to the larger ensemble pieces however, there was also one last chance to hear some of this year’s most consistently impressive performers in more familiar contexts. Firstly Guitarist Karin Schaupp performing Mauro Giuliani Gran Sonata Eroica: a charming piece, if not a little unremarkable. However delivered with Schaupp’s characteristically bright, creamy tones it couldn’t fail but convince.

Bulgarian violin virtuoso Bella Hristova, joined on piano by Aleksandar Madžar, gave an ardently expressive account of Fauré’s Violin Sonata No 1. Although brutally demanding on both violinist and pianist, these...