THE daffodils are up and down in this neck of the woods at least, spring is in the air!

In Beethoven’s Symphony No.6, Pastoral the outlook, with such wonderful melodies under the direction of Shuntaro Sato‘s skilful hand, was optimistic, the “happy feelings” engendered with a most natural ambience. Allowing the music to unfold with exceptional eloquence, the “brook” was always calmly bubbling; the “country fair” superbly evoked and though we may expect a thunderstorm of two, let’s hope they are just as short-lived. There was never an overwrought note to Sato’s summer, simply a mellifluous transition from one episode to another and worth a “thank you” for that.

For me, and many others, the epitome of summer in music is Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. The BSO’s leader Simon Blendis sent this skylark aloft with outstanding sensitivity, touching the most subtle of dynamic shadings and imbued with intuitive feeling.

That seldom heard harbinger of spring was deliciously substituted by Delius with his On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, and Smetana’s imposing, heartfelt Vltava was cogently performed.

And as for those pesky wasps; the dulcet tone voice of Petroc Trelawny set the scenic side and illuminated the truth about Vaughan Williams’ Wasps Overture. Ouch!