More like ‘CUCA the Musical’ than New Year in Vienna, the Strauss Gala at the Corn Exchange was an eclectic mix of stunning soprano, delicious dancing and an orchestra to die for. Not perhaps an event that many students attended – in fact, we brought the average age down considerably, and the gun shot in one of the polkas was a very brave move – but it was one which, although a little rough around the edges, made for a very enjoyable evening.

The orchestra was, as is traditional, directed by the first violinist, whose rendition of Kreisler was almost good enough to overshadow the terror that he might tell another joke. The orchestra was professional , and their energy shone through their playing, especially in the ‘Radeztky March’, which gathered the most applause of the evening. Some of Strauss’s less well known music was also very much brought to life.

One of the show’s highlights was the singing of Amy Freston, whose high notes genuinely soared, and whose treatment of Strauss’s ‘The Laughing Song’ was outstanding. The dances were at turns exemplary and bizarre, with some of the choreography more suited to 1950s television than the grandeur of the Corn Exchange, but, in the words of an elderly woman who sat next to me, the dancers were “extremely fit”.

An event like this is very difficult to compare to a night at the ballet or a concert, but the sheer joy and delight which was apparent on most of the performers’ faces throughout gave the impression of fun and relaxed music-making, an element which is sometimes lost from the more stuffy performances in London and elsewhere. In this age of austerity, perhaps relaxed classical music will once again prove itself as a refuge. You would have to be a very hard-hearted person to not feel uplifted, at least in some way, by the lively, bright and spirited way in which this Gala was performed.

All in all, the event resembled a perfect Viennese Whirl – a slightly crumbly but decent biscuit, filled with delicious, if somewhat ageing, cream.