Something old and much that's new was the theme of the first of Minnesota Orchestra's Sommerfest chamber concerts. Heard Friday morning at Orchestra Hall, this was an entertaining introduction to the three-concert series.

The serious work on the program was Ned Rorem's Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano. From the opening cadenza, flutist Adam Kuenzel dazzled with his virtuosity, yet grounded the display in lyrical beauty. Cellist Eugena Chang joined him and pianist Susan Billmeyer in thrilling cascades of clashing chromatics. The second movement was darker and more dissonant, a dialogue between flute and cello interrupted by an insistent, discordant piano.

The third movement gave the cello its own melodic cadenza that Chang handled with aplomb. The interplay of instruments and textures took on a melancholy patina. The finale had echoes of Debussy threaded through Rorem's unique sensibility. The crashing sonorities brought the work to an impressive conclusion.

The novelty on the program was "Café Music" by Paul Schoenfield. Inspired by a stint as guest pianist in the trio at Murray's restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, Schoenfield wanted "to write a kind of high-class dinner music," and the result is a pleasant blend of popular and concert music.

Essentially a pastiche full of references to a range of early 20th-century music, the work is tuneful and melodic and great fun, though it does occasionally flirt with mawkish sentimentality.

The soloists -- violinist Stephanie Arado, cellist Janet Horvath and pianist Charles Kemper -- took the music seriously, but not too seriously. They made easy work of the many technical challenges and had a rollicking good time. This is undeniably a lightweight work, but the same can be said of much of the popular standard repertoire.

The concert opened with Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds. Pianist Laurinda Sager Wright played with a delicacy and graceful elegance that anchored the performance. But at moments of intensity and passion, her playing took on a coarseness. And the winds -- Julie Gramolini, oboe, Gregory T. Williams, clarinet, Mark Kelley, bassoon, and Brian Jensen, horn -- struggled to maintain balance.

Things improved in the second movement, when the quintet settled down and became a true ensemble. The gentle lyricism in the music, and in the performance, was enchanting. And the interplay of instruments in the sprightly finale was exciting and enlivening.

William Randall Beard is a Minneapolis writer.