'Two of the pieces on Saturday's NSO programme are hardly strangers to the concert hall. In fact, Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody and Orff's Carmina Burana may even suffer from over-exposure, so there has to be something special about their performance to set the pulse racing.

Luckily Clare Hammond had just the right combination of pianistic poetry and brilliance to make this a Rhapsody to remember. There is a jazzy, improvisatory feel about so much of it. Clare and conductor Derek Williams could clearly read each other's minds, so close was their rapport in a work dazzling but fraught with peril. No wonder the audience gasped and cheered.

Carmina Burana made a big impact too. The Sinfonia Chorale, the Derby Bach Choir, High School boys and the NSO packed a huge initial punch, remaining accurate and detailed throughout. Tenor Richard Roddis made a memorable swan, baritone Simon Theobold managed his multi-faceted role with aplomb and soprano Donna Bateman produced beautiful sounds.

All this - and Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody too. No wonder the capacity audience loved it.'