WHAT a difference the small but perfectly formed English Chamber Orchestra made to Schubert's unfinished Symphony No 8 in B Minor. The pace, transparency and balance of the ECO's performance conducted by Alexander Shelley was breathtaking. Every individual instrument had a voice, so to speak. The dynamic range was just as astonishing - from softly foreboding strings and sighing woodwinds to dramatically loud climaxes that would make you think at least sixty, and not just forty musicians were on stage.

Pace, transparency and balance were conspicuous qualities in the first of the evening's two concertos - Mozart's Piano Concerto No 17 in G (K453). South Korean pianist Hee Jae Kim's exquisite colouring of the solo line illuminated the textures. The weight of orchestral accompaniment built upon just twenty two strings, plus flute and two each of horns, bassoons and oboes was perfectly judged. Kim amused the audience with her encore - Stephen Hough's shimmering fantasia on Richard Rodgers' My Favourite Things (The Sound of Music).

Haydn's famous Trumpet Concerto in E Flat inevitably sounded as though the Salvation Army had matched in. But this remains a hugely entertaining work, especially in the hands of trumpet virtuoso Jason Evans.

Finally, Alexander Shelley and the ECO dazzled the audience with their performance of Mozart's "Haffner" Symphony, No 35 in D major. This was an absolute knockout - crystal clear, graceful, and bursting with rhythmic vigour.

by Geoffrey Mogridge