A few years ago I was on a plane with Edvard Grieg. Or to be more accurate, a plane with Edvard Grieg on the tail fin.

He was one of the ‘tail fin heroes’ of Norwegian Airlines.

It was my first trip to Norway, driving from Bodo over mountains and crossing fjords to Tromso inside the Artic Circle, a journey of spectacular beauty.

I was reminded of this trip while listening to the composer’s best loved work, his Piano Concerto performed by the BSO at the Lighthouse in the Northern Highlights programme.

The absolute magic of his music perfectly mirrors the magic of Norway’s stunning landscape.

Soloist Alexandra Dariescu, making her Lighthouse debut, was mesmerising at the Steinway and the audience took this charming and brilliant musician to its collective heart.

There's alway a sense of anticipation at the beginning of that very familiar bold introduction and Dariescu was on it from the start, later admitting to the Echo: "I felt I could take as many risks with piece as I wanted."

She came off stage and sat with the BSO faithful for the second half, the magnificent, evocative and powerful Symphony No 3 by Sibelius.

There is something particularly special about pieces from the Scandinavian composers - Grieg and Sibelius are the giants.

Greig is Norwegian music and Sibelius most certainly is Finnish music. He remains an national hero too.

Their work reflects the beauty and spirit of their respective homelands, more so than any other composers and their countries. It really fills the heart.

It was also a delight to see the dynamic, Birmingham-born, Alpesh Chauhan at the podium for the first time.

This seemingly most humble of conductors appeared to shun the applause that maestros usually enjoy from the front, instead walking through the orchestra asking each section to stand in turn and take the bow. He seemed to be saying, this is about you.

Dariescu, also famed for her piano recital production, The Nutcracker and I, also told me during the interval chat: "I love playing with these guys."

Quite clearly the feeling is mutual.