Three stars
The Old Centrum; Feb. 24.

“Wanderlust” was the theme of OP’s latest concert, where they explored different time periods and countries. We visited Baroque Italy first, hearing Antonio Vivaldi’s Concert grosso in D minor for two violins and cello soli. It was a lively and energetic reading, if at times not terribly precise. We then traveled north to Austria for Gustav Mahler’s Adagietto, the fourth movement of his Fifth Symphony. Despite anyone’s best intentions, Mahler’s work does not convey itself as well if not performed as he intended — in this case, a full-sized string section was needed. Mahler also never meant this movement to stand alone. We then heard the best work of the evening, by an Italian contemporary, Giovanni Sollima. His Africa seemed like a wonderful clash between the music of Philip Glass and John Adams. It had a rhythmic vitality about it, and the second movement at times was deeply intimate. Local composer and percussionist Adam Rivere-Long ended the evening with Everlust, a work for strings, percussion, Native American flute and computer. The audience enjoyed swinging around glow sticks while listening to this interesting work, which employed a rave-style beat as its primary foundation.