The Orchestra of St Cecilia's "Bach and Mozart 2000" series at the National Concert Hall showed straightforward, effective programming. Successive Wednesday nights offered Mozart's three 1772 "Salzburg' divertimentos and three last symphonies, three of his violin concertos and the Sinfonia concertante for viola and violin K364, plus Bach's two violin concertos. The violinist was Catherine Leonard, and Barry Douglas conducted.

One of the most rewarding aspects of the concertos was the distinctive treatment of the solo parts. Catherine Leonard played the Concerto in D K218 with an urgent vigour which suited the prominence of her part over the orchestral writing. In Bach's Concerto in E BWV1042, the soloist was the first among equals, blending into the orchestral texture and emerging from it, not so much for display as for contrast.

The Violin Concerto in A K219 received one of the best performances. In such sectional music, where it is the soloist who turns the corner so many times, Catherine Leonard showed excellent timing, and purposeful control of tone and colour.

Barry Douglas's conducting tended to concentrate on rhythmic energy and characterising the phrase, rather than on detail. His tendency to drive hard, notably in the outer movements of Symphony No. 40, sometimes put the ensemble under pressure and produced playing which, though lively, was unfocused; and in the concertos there were intermittent problems in responding to the twists and turns of the solo part.

Douglas can encourage musicians to work hard. Yet the best performances were those where he was less emphatic, where the players had space to listen. For that reason, the Divertimento in E K138 and the Symphony No. 41 ("Jupiter") were the best-performed of the purely orchestral works. In the symphony, each movement was characterised in a way which led towards the Finale, which was suitably climactic, despite the omission of the repeats which give the coda its conclusive power.

Even though the "Jupiter" tends to overpower everything before it, the Sinfonia concertante was a highlight. Catherine Leonard was joined by Simon Aspell (viola), best known to Irish audiences through the RTE Vanbrugh String Quartet. They were an excellent partnership, distinct but complementary; and the Orchestra of St Cecilia's playing was like chamber music in its responsiveness.