Hats off to the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, an orchestra in a thousand which gave a concert in a million last night in the Royal Concert Hall.

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Hats off to the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, an orchestra in a thousand which gave a concert in a million last night in the Royal Concert Hall.

Unquestionably, the crowd-puller in the all-Beethoven concert was superstar violinist Joshua Bell; but I do not believe for one second that the tumultuous ovation which erupted after a climactic and stunning performance of the Seventh Symphony was directed at anyone other than this great orchestra itself.

With Bell at the top, directing from the leader's chair, the consummate genius of Tristan Fry's timpani playing at the bottom, firing on all cylinders from the engine room, and an army of generals in between, the musicianship that streamed from the stage last night was beyond superlatives. No holds barred here. From the moment they launched the concert with a tautly dramatic account of the Coriolan Overture, it was evident this was going to be out of the ordinary. The playing from this legendary conductor-less orchestra coupled all the grandeur of epic Beethovenian playing with the flawless intimacy of seasoned chamber musicians.

To Joshua Bell's gloriously relaxed, spacious and lyrical playing of the Violin Concerto, the ASMF provided an accompaniment of such co-ordination and sophistication that they might have had a great conductor giving the right cues at the right time.

There was none, just Bell and the players; and to watch the near-miraculous communication that went on within the band was an experience of undiluted pleasure. After a delicious solo from Bell the slow movement ended with three soft pizzicato chords. They are never together. They were last night, utterly flawless in their delivery.