They breed them big and tough-looking in Siberia and, in the case of Vadim Repin, with a passion for the violin and the music of his homeland.

This Russians appearance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) was surely the highlight of the citys musical year as he gave a sparky performance of Tchaikovskys Violin Concerto, perhaps the most exciting reading I have ever heard.

Fireworks flew from his strings as he pulled the bow back and forth and if the violin had suddenly burst into flames, it would have come as no surprise.

This was passionate, romantic, dazzling and vibrant playing which was breathtaking to watch and hear packed full of the richest music Tchaikovsky was capable of and full of the sound of Russia.

Repin, a good six feet tall and looking like a whole Russian army in one man, took up the violin when he was five years old and made his stage debut within just six months.

At 11 he won the first of many awards and by his mid-teens was touring Japan and America. Now, at just 34, he must be described as one of the greatest violinists of his generation.

So brilliant and blinding was his presence that the LPOs second-half performance of Dvoraks Eighth Symphony a gloriously noisy performance was something of an anti-climax and the opening work, Rimsky-Korsakovs Russian Easter Festival overture, was soon forgotten even though conductor Emmanuel Krivine is obviously a maestro of fine repute.