AFTER ten years of top class musicmaking, the last Cossington Concerts event under the artistic direction of Julie Anne Sadie, aided by her husband, Trust chairman David Goode, was a poignant affair.

St. Mary’s Church was packed for a typically superb feast of music from the celebrated Russian ensemble, the Dominant Quartet.

They opened with Mozart’s String Quartet No.17 in B flat Major, K458, beautifully conveying its elegant refinement, quiet grandeur and uplifting finale.

But the highlight of the evening was the electric performance of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No.8 in C Minor, Op.110.

Dedicated to the memory of victims of fascism and war, this dark autobiographical work is menacing, macabre and totally engrossing.

After the interval, the quartet produced another excellent performance. Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden', String Quartet in D Minor, D810, never fails to delight and provided the final season with a fitting conclusion.

All four musicians played beautifully; Elena Revich, (first violin), Ekaterina Pogodina (second violin), Anna Sazonkina (viola) and Tatiana Egorova (cello).

Only the Fund for Young Musicians auditions, fundraising concert and the Nancy Carr Prize Competition will remain for 2013, so this is most definitely the end of a glorious era.

It has been a real privilege to attend such wonderful concerts over the last decade. The music scene in Somerset will never be quite the same again.

IAN BEECH