Most concertgoers still keep so-called contemporary music at a distance, with the result that it has become a narrow and sophisticated interest associated mainly with capital cities.

This is sad, and unworthy of those who profess to love music, a great quality of which is often serendipity - the chance discovery of something new and exciting.

All praise, then, to Sinfonia Cymru, the orchestra formed to give young professional musicians the experience of performing publicly at a high level, and its latest programme of music by Stravinsky, Berio and Schoenberg, conducted by founder Gareth Jones.

The Soldier's Tale, Stravinsky's expressively rhythmic take on the Faust story, is sometimes told by different actors in the parts of the narrator, the soldier, the devil and the princess, but in this version all were assumed by opera star Donald Maxwell in speaking mode.

Its virtue lay in maintaining focus on the music, in which Cerys Jones' eloquent violin part stood out among equals while leaving Mr Maxwell as a kind of impresario in firm control of his motley cast.

A captivating performance. Stravinsky's astringent scoring for seven instruments is even tauter in Berio's Folk Songs, sung with wide emotional range and flexibility by mezzo Joanne Thomas, with instrumentalists whose deceptively simple tasks were executed with intuitive grasp.

The disturbing harmonic richness of Schoenberg's First Chamber Symphony was communicated with zeal, confirming the relationship between forward motion and internal shifts as its chief thrill.

The ultimate destination, of course, was to change music for ever.