WHEN Classic FM presenter John Brunning walked on stage at the Pavilion on Saturday evening, he expressed the hope that no-one in the audience had been directly affected by the events on Westminster Bridge three days earlier.

He added: "Of course have all been touched in some way by what happened, so let's hope that the carthartic effects of wonderful music from the BSO can help a little."

The concert was entitled Glorious Mozart with his Clarinet Concerto sitting as the central piece of the evening.

Before it came Beethoven's Egmont Overture which became the unofficial anthem of the Hungarian Revolution and is a piece full of passion and triumph.

It was a rousing start to the proceedings, much appreciated by a good-sized audience.

After the interval, Jean Sibelius took centre stage with his epic Symphony Number 2, energetic and forceful with the strings working furiously in the finale, when the familiar and stirring them finally emerges after a tantalising build up.

Soloist Emma Johnson excelled in Mozart's Clarinet Concerto which was first performed in Prague in 1791.

Mozart died just ten weeks later, at the age of 34.

This elaborate and wonderful piece holds so many emotions. Sadness is very much one of them.

Guest conductor Michael Seal, associate conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra brought a sense of calm and controlled authority to the podium in what was another uplifting and inspiring evening with the BSO.