Moscow Boys

Okay, the name's at least a tad ironic. But Moscow Boys sound like a boyband for a reason: they're a Russian string quartet who mix classical music with puppyish energy and moves that would put Backstreet Boys to shame.

It's co-produced by Aurora Nova, better known for a more challenging brand of international performance. But Moscow Boys' presence on their lineup feels like a riposte to all the cheesy stereotypes that gather round populist classical music, whether it's Last Night of the Proms jingoism, Hollywood schmaltz, or plastic Liberace piano sleaze.

They might tap dance, dick about in huge floral hats, and even woo a pretty lady from the audience with a cover of Enrique Iglesias's 'Hero'. But there's a sense of sheer fun and inventiveness that stops this quartet's work from feeling cynical. And there's some gorgeous clowning and physical theatre, too, culminating in a sequence where they rip through a Phantom of the Opera medley on rollerblades, before skating backwards into sepulchral darkness.

The fun flounders, a little, in a series of pop songs that drown out their strings with heavy amplified beats, made murky by the venue's patchy sound system. But a surreal Russian wedding finale—with a Pink Floyd soundtrack—restores the evening to glorious mayhem. Their marriage of string instrument artistry and crotch-thrusting showmanship might not be the most promising of matches. But when they're having this much fun, it's one that deserves a happy ending.