It's no fun moving. Turfed out of the Barbican Centre, York Guildhall Orchestra (YGO) and its conductor, Simon Wright, have found temporary pasture at the university.

It is a more courageous sojourn than it may sound.

Central Hall may offer its audience a much closer view, but it is the very devil for players, especially strings, who can feel as if they areplaying a solo.

So there was some understandable - if uncharacteristic - raggedness. It was not noticeable in Alec Roth's bright Ring Dance, a new commission marking the orchestra's 25th anniversary season.

From an all-percussion, Javanese opening, it discovers a vaguely South American hue, as it recycles a chirpy motif in true minimalist style.

Mahler knew what he was doing when he discarded the Andante, now known as Blumine, from his First Symphony. It meanders aimlessly. Its opening trumpet solo needs incredible finesse. Neither problem was fully conquered here, still less with the dodgy leaps at the close.

Gershwin's An American In Paris strolled on an irrepressibly jaunty fashion to repair the damage. Montmartre was never so brash, as rhythm (and blues) splashed the canvas alluringly.

Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony combines searing drama and quiet resignation, not always as convincingly as YGO managed. Its still centre, the oboe solo of its Largo, was captivating.

Everything radiated from there. The terrifying build-up to the big unison in the first movement, the light-hearted verve of the Allegretto, the frank anger of the finale, all made a soul-shattering combination.

Updated: 11:04 Monday, November 01, 2004