Ensemble Antipodes City Hall Theatre one night only Contemporary 'serious' music has never been a crowd-puller, and the Ensemble Antipodes' concert on Wednesday was no exception. But for those present and willing to appreciate their art, the five string and three wind players presented expert renderings of challenging musical visions. The concert featured the world premiere of Eternal Sun by Hong Kong-born Canadian Melissa Hui, whose sustained sound seemed to have metamorphosed from a slow movement from one of Beethoven's late string quartets. Wang Xilin's Octet, Op 42, followed, featuring a taxing solo bassoon part. After the interval, Klaus Huber's Ein Hauch von Unzeit III ('A whiff of anachronism III') began with a single violin; other players chimed in from around the hall, enveloping the audience in soft and free counterpoint. Throughout the concert, the Ensemble Antipodes played with a warm tone that made the pungent dissonances more human, although certain passages could have been attended to more delicately. When they encored with a pleasantly lilting Menuetto from Schubert's Octet, one could not help wishing they had played more of that for the audience's sake.