It's hard to see how Igor Stravinsky in later life could have denied that his early Scherzo Fantastique had anything to do with bees. It had in fact been inspired by Maurice Maeterlinck's book The Life of the Bee - the score prefaced by a programme explaining the apiarian theme, if not its source - and it was only Maeterlinck's threat of litigation, when the score was used for a ballet, Les Abeilles, that occasioned the denial.

In the hands of Vassily Sinaisky and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the music itself was evidence enough. Its quiet buzzing, hovering and more menacing swarming were all perfectly apparent and, while the young Stravinsky betrayed more of a debt to his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov than his own latent genius, Sinaisky's gossamer textures certainly pointed to the fluttering wings of the incipient Firebird.

This concert marked Sinaisky's debut with the LPO. It was auspicious. The eloquent flow of his conducting opened up a wealth of instrumental detail and colour that emerged as though for the first time. Achieving that in a work as familiar as Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherezade is a considerable feat, and the drama and precision of the rhythmic figuration was brilliantly executed, while the instrumental solos, in particular those of leader Boris Garlitsky and bassoonist Philip Tarlton, had an element of fantasy and freedom every bit as captivating as Sheherezade's tales.

The French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet was the soloist in a concerto by another Rimsky pupil, Serge Prokofiev. That the stinging wit of the third concerto was as strongly characterised as its extraordinary virtuosity showed Bavouzet to be a musician not only of superficial elegance - black shirt with evening dress - but real calibre. Combined with the urgency and passion of Sinaisky, it made this an exhilarating performance.