Some concerts tick all the boxes, stir the right emotions.

This was one such. And, pleasingly, a packed audience showed appreciation in full measure: almost to the embarrassment of director and soloist who seemed visibly touched by prolonged applause.

Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, often played, frequently besmirched as part of musak in “up market” restaurants and waiting rooms, is not often fired with such verve and emotional intensity as Nicola Benedetti poured into it. Slim, slight of build, she is a veritable violin powerhouse.

There was a freshness, a musical clarity and precision; the pace was rightly blistering.

Quietly, discreetly, Jerome Akoka directed Stravinsky’s Concerto in D for Strings in such a way that it was unusually musical – yes, Stravinsky! Divertimento in F Major, written by the 16-year-old Mozart, had the bounce of youth in the EUCO’s treatment and Britten’s Simple Symphony rounded off a quite remarkable evening.