Graham Fitkin’s new Recorder Concerto was written for Sophie Westbrooke – winner of the woodwind category in the 2014 BBC Young Musician competition – and spotlights her virtuosic technique. It’s unusual because it was conceived not for a single instrument, but for multiple amplified recorders, ranging from grand bass up to the tiniest sopranino, a contemporary take on the 16th-century consort of recorders. Literally, a concerted effort.

The single-movement work begins by alternating the moody tones of the two lowest-pitched recorders before progressing to the higher-pitched ones; Fitkin correspondingly raised the temperature and pace as his jazzy signature style kicked in. Westbrooke made the transitions from one instrument to the other appear effortless and, thanks to the amplification and Fitkin’s nifty sound-profiling, she was never overpowered by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, even in their moments of big-band mode. Niche repertoire perhaps, but a thoroughly appealing work.

The final concert in the Vale of Glamorgan festival continued with Huw Watkins’s Cello Concerto, written for his brother Paul, who, having premiered it at last year’s Proms, again brought his characteristically expressive tone to the atmosphere of questioning contemplation the piece seems to embrace.

John Adams’s 70th birthday was feted in The Chairman Dances and, on a grander scale, his Absolute Jest. In this, the Apollon Musagète Quartet joined BBCNOW, with conductor Tecwyn Evans pointing up the witty homage to Beethoven but also its serious intent.

All in all, an uplifting end to this year’s festival.

• Available on iPlayer until 27 June.