Billed as a Violin Fantasy, Julian Rachlin’s latest appearance with Royal Northern Sinfonia lived up to every expectation as he dazzled a capacity audience at Sage Gateshead with a breathtaking display of musicianship.

Directing from the lead violin, Rachlin opened proceedings with a lush and full-bodied account of Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence. The first movement’s swaggering folk dance led organically into a beautiful serenade, with seamless exchanges between the string sections whipped to a heady climax.

The slow movement featured a passionate song between the cello and viola, while Rachlin drove the players to a spirited finale.

The second half of the concert saw Rachlin take centre stage with Listz’s Concerto Fantasy "After Reading Dante", as arranged by Sergei Dreznin. Rachlin set the scene, laying out his stall with a steady deliberation, before unleashing a virtuosic display that drew on every device in the violin’s arsenal.

A passage evoking the spine-chilling cries of despair of the condemned was conveyed with gutsy playing. Rachlin was a man possessed as he blazed through a thrilling cadenza.

Astor Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, arranged by Russian composer Leonid Desyatknikov, was injected with a sense of joy. The opening Summer was shot through with light and included a fleeting and witty reference to Vivaldi’s winter.

Autumn provided another highlight of the evening, with a sultry song shared by Rachlin and cellist Brian O’Kane. Spring, infused with sensuous tango rhythms, hurtled to a giddy climax with the RNS relishing every twist and turn.

Rachlin had prepared an encore in the shape of Gershwin’s The Man I Love. He has certainly endeared himself to North-East audiences, who will keenly await his next return.

Gavin Engelbrecht