On paper, the judicious programme, in its combination of the familiar and unfamiliar and its lack of arrangements and rearrangements, was a welcome deviation from the arguably stray paths of repertoire on which the orchestra went on occasion last year.

Intriguing works by Finnish composers Rautavaara, Sibelius and Aulis Sallinen completed the evening's first half, each of which was made all the more intriguing and enchanting by Kuusisto's daring interpretations and vibrant leadership. His clear knowledge of Finnish folk style, tongue-in-cheek as it may have been, breathed a life of energy and colour into the characterisations of Rautavaara's 'The Fiddlers' suite.

As a soloist, he may have brought a degree too much of the folk senza vibrato sound so suited to the Rautavaara to the Sibelius' Suite for Violin and Orchestra. The potential jubilation of the first two movements was dulled in a way by the unexpected obsequiousness of Kuusisto's solo violin part. In this way, the boisterous scurrying mischief of the last movement, in which the solo violin part commands complete attention and which the Fin so infectiously enjoyed, might not have come as such a stark surprise in character.

A buoyant rendition of Bach's 3rd Brandenburg concerto opened the second half of the concert, bubbling with the poised energy of faultless ensembleplaying. Kuusisto's choice of articulation in places, or his liberty-taking thereof, was altogether becoming of the vivaciousness of the approach but his choice of col legno in the last movement smacked of gratuitous rebellion.

As expected, the Tchaikovsky 'Serenade' was a rollercoaster ride from the outset, Kuusisto willing his forces to exaggerate every dynamic and colour to the greatest of effects. The 3rd movement, 'Elegy', which began with aching delicacy, became too strident in tempo in the middle section. The orchestra, on the whole, as Kuusisto demonstrated by sitting in the stalls to applaud his colleagues, was stunning in its response to their director's demands and one would expect to see this combination again.

But for now, the Irish Chamber Orchestra will concern themselves with the next tour under their artistic director Anthony Marwood, commencing 29 March in Limerick, followed by Cork (31) and Dublin (1 April).

Just two concerts remain in this season's Sunday Times International Orchestral Series at the National Concert Hall, the last chapter of which took place on the last day of February when the St Petersburg Philharmonic, under Yuri Temirkanov, presented an all-Russian programme.

Sayaka Shoji, soloist in Prokofiev's 'Violin Concerto No 1', showed, with her powerful quasi-Russian sound, why Temirkanov is such an admirer of hers. She certainly didn't shy from employing some ugly articulation to make her point felt and rattled off the most horrendously difficult technical passages with ease. The sense of development in the first movement suffered a little from contrivance and Shoji may have 'let herself go' earlier on in proceedings.

Temirkanov's performance was of its usual gilt-edged elegance; his minimal gestures and movements speak so clearly of his intentions - every conductor should conduct like him. In Prokofiev's 'Classical Symphony' and the suite from Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake', the orchestra gave the technically perfect performance we would expect from Russia's oldest orchestra. The London Philharmonic is next on the bill in the series, with Vladimir Jurowski having been recently announced to replacement to Kurt Masur on the podium. The Dublin doctors who treated Masur after he was brought to hospital during the interval of the London Phil's second concert here last March due to heart palpitations will be delighted to know that he has taken a decision to reduce his workload.