If there is one area I wish I could write about more it is live music, classical and popular. Considering that singing in classical concerts across the London stages occupied so much of my childhood, it is surprising that I don’t review more. On a rare night out together last week my sister, my mum and I went to the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank to see the adorable Finnish virtuosic violinist, Pekka Kuusisto.

Pekka visits London regularly to play with various orchestras, musicians and conductors; he is highly regarded by all. Before the concert we caught the final ten minutes of his pre-performance interview. He spoke of inspiration and the qualities that are most important for a professional musician. Joking and laughing, he was very down to earth and charming, instantly likeable.

For this concert, named Concentric Paths, he was joined by conductor and pianist Thomas Ades and the Britten Sinfonia. The first half of the programme focused on Couperin and interpretations of this great French composer’s work. I was particularly impressed with the orchestra, a sensational ensemble who play with musicality and expertise. I sat, amazed by the sound, and decided their playing could be compared to the perfect meringue – light, sweet and carefully balanced. Ades led the orchestra with a firm heart, poised and gracious.

Pekka, only arriving on stage for the second half, played some ridiculously complex music. Wearing a strangely informal (and unflattering) outfit, he smiled genuinely as he raised his instrument to his chin. Stravinsky’s ‘Air du Rossignol and Marche Chinoise’ was Pekka’s opening piece, he played it with boisterous energy while still conveying the delicate subtleties in the score. The final piece, Concerto for Violin (Concentric Paths) was written by Ades, an impossibly difficult showpiece which Pekka approached with his usual positive character and fresh creativity. He seemed to enjoy playing the staggeringly hard sequences, his fingers jumping expertly to and fro.

The evening concluded with a delicious encore, Sibelius’s Humoresque Number 4, a jolly little piece to complete a spectacular evening of musical talent.