On the opening leg of an English and American tour at the Royal Festival Hall, London, Rob Cowan sees Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester turn a rocky start to a good finish

The Authors: Hilary du Pre and Piers du Pre, older sis and younger bro of cello legend Jacqueline. H is a flautist, P a businessman; both life-long victims - now beneficiaries - of middle England's home-grown Jackie myth.

Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie/ Christoph Eschenbach (BMG / RCA 09026 68800 2)

Christopher van Kampen, cellist: born Pinner, Middlesex 4 September 1945; married Marcia Crayford (one son, one daughter; marriage dissolved); died Pinner 30 September 1997.

MacMillan Premiere Barbican Hall, London

Kurt Sanderling Conducts

It is all there in the big hair and the big attitude. Steven Isserlis is a world class cellist. Now he needs his own pounds 850,000 instrument. Zanpe dri

Many composers have their quiet helpers, doing anything from filling in tax returns to sharpening pencils. For most British music lovers, however, the role of amanuensis surely conjures up just one image: that of Eric Fenby, who died earlier this year.

A Concert for Dr Eric Fenby takes place at the Wigmore Hall London W1 (0171-935 2141) on 16 Sept at 7.30pm

Long traditions of democracy and meanness have made Britain rather good at the sort of festival that blurs the divide between professional and amateur, participant and listener. It gives everyone a chance. It doesn't cost like Salzburg. And a good example to put beside St Endellion, which I wrote about last week, is Lake District Summer Music: an annual event that merges a temporary academy for young string players with a public platform for distinguished artists who come both to play and teach.

Revelations: The time: 1973 The place: The Gate cinema, Notting Hill, London The man: Steven Isserlis, cellist

plus Debussy, Popper, Scriabin and Rachmaninov Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) Alexander Dedyukhin (piano) Royal Philharmonic / Sir Adrian Boult; Philharmonia / Sir Malcolm Sargent Recorded 1956-1...

CLASSICAL Mstislav Rostropovich LSO / Zubin Mehta Barbican Centre, London

Anyone with half an interest in contemporary music and within reach of London in the last few days would have been spoilt, perhaps agonised, for choice. If it wasn't Michael Nyman storming the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday, it was Sir Simon Rattle on Sunday inexorably creeping forwards in his "Millennium" series, or Rostropovich on Tuesday having himself a party to celebrate his 70th birthday. Michael Nyman's music is sui generis but what must strike any punter who's kept up with new orchestral work in the last 20 years is the sheer virtuosity of playing nowadays (and on precious little rehearsal); works of frightening difficulty are simply rattled off.