STEPPING into the breach for another performer at short notice must be a daunting prospect at the best of times, but Francesco Piemontesi rose to the challenge with style when he substituted for pianist Ingrid Fliter at the Sage.

Fliter, who was indisposed through illness, was programmed to play the Saint Saens’ fiendish Piano Concerto No 2. So it was understandable that Piemontesi settled for more the more familiar Mozart Piano Concerto No 14.

Studied though his opening may have been, he soon loosened up with the backing of Northern Sinfonia, accomplished Mozartians they are. Piemontesi gave a stirring account of the last movement.

The appreciative audience was treated to, not one, but two encores – a blazing rendition of the last part of Stravinsky’s Firebird and reflective piece from Schubert. Piemontesi’s appearance was topped and tailed with polished performances by the Sinfonia under the baton of the youthful Ainars Rubikis.

The evening opened with a dazzling account of Rossini’s Silken Ladder. The crescendos were perfectly pitched, with scintillating dotted lines from the woodwinds. Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante defuncte oozed Gallic charm, with Rubikis maintaining a deliberate pace, emphasising each phrase, without being soporific.

Mozart’s overture to the Magic Flute was followed by as fine an interpretation of Schubert’s Symphony No 8 as one could hope for. The opening passage from cellos under Louisa Tuck established a warmth that permeated the performance. Rubikis laid out two-movement work in all its grandeur.

A wholly satisfying evening.