FOR the fourth annual Birmingham Conservatoire recital, the Classical Music Society welcomed pianist John Humphreys and The Nero String Quartet.

This was the first Live at the Library performance I had been to and the first time I have had the chance to listen to musicians from the Birmingham Conservatoire so it was a new experience for me.

The evening began with Mozart's Piano Quartet in G minor, K478, which started off quite sombrely but then gathered in pace before the final movement and was followed by the slightly darker Brahms's String Quartet No 2 in A minor, Op.51.

There is no doubt that John Humphreys, who first played for the society in 1971, is an extremely talented pianist.

The Nero String Quartet, which was formed in 2001 and consists of Stella Hartikainen on violin, Erika Lindgren on violin, Helen Lancaster on viola and Emma Capp on cello, were also very impressive and were clearly enjoying their performance.

The combination of Humphreys's piano playing and the string quartet worked well and they seemed to complement one another.

To finish, they played the Elgar Piano Quintet in A Minor, Op 84, which was the highlight of the evening. It was the piece the audience seemed most eager to hear and by the applause it received it was clear everybody had enjoyed it. HL