On Thursday 22 March, 'A Dance to the Music of Time' will showcase the orchestra in a series of pieces exploring the influence of different musical epochs through history. The Orpheus Sinfonia, conducted by Toby Purser, will play Prokofiev's 'Classical' Symphony, harking back to Haydn and Mozart, and Britten's revision of Purcell's Chacony, before the next step in the dance, Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin, pays homage to French Baroque music whilst letting the composer's markedly twentieth-century chromaticism shine through. After the interval, we will hear Beethoven's timeless Seventh Symphony, termed by Wagner 'the apotheosis of the dance' and hailed since its composition for its joy and power.

Leonard Schreiber, acclaimed as one of the most exciting and promising soloist of his generation, performed twice last season with the Orpheus Sinfonia. For the first lunchtime concert of Orpheus' spring 2012 season, Leonard will be joined by internationally renowned young pianist Veronika Shoot in an eclectic recital ranging from Bach's timeless Air on the G String to Schnittke's 1978 revision of 'Silent Night' and two elegant and virtuosic violin sonatas by Debussy and Prokofiev.

This performance by the Pythagoras Quartet continues the season's theme of showcasing young orchestral musicians by featuring Clifton Harrison, the Orpheus Sinfonia's Principal Violist. The Pythagoras Quartet aim to inspire audiences to think outside the box, by performing contemporary works alongside conventional string quartet repertoire. In their exciting and original TangoFugue recital we will hear a selection of Argentine composer Piazzolla's original works and arrangments by Harrison, juxtaposed with Mendelssohn's lively Capriccio and Mozart's Five Fugues for String Quartet, themselves based on Bach's 'Well Tempered Clavier', in a unique programme spanning four centuries.

Thomas Besnard has previously performed at Orpheus' concerts and recitals both as an orchestral pianist and with the Berkeley Ensemble. As the Glendower Duo, Besnard himself and clarinettist Hannah Morgan are considered one of the most exciting and innovative duos in London, perfoming classical repertoire while promoting contemporary works for the clarinet and piano. Their performance on 15 February will feature Françaix's jazz-influenced Tema con variazioni, Saint-Saëns' haunting, unforgettable Sonata, and Poulenc's energetic Sonata for clarinet and piano.

The final free lunchtime recital of Orpheus' Spring season sees Mathieu van Bellen and Jonathan Bloxham, the Leader and Principal Cello respectively for Orpheus Sinfonia's 22 March evening concert, joined by Liisa Randalu and Omri Epstein, forming the Busch Ensemble. We will hear two undoubted classics of the repertoire: Mozart's Piano Quartet in G minor, considered the first major piece of its kind and renowned in its day for its technical complexity, and Fauré's rich and dazzling Quartet in C minor.