While, down in Somerset, thousands of mud-clad revellers were enjoying the last day of Glastonbury, another festival, closer to home, was drawing to a close with a flourish of its own.

Blenheim Palace’s two-day Nocturne event had already rocked to Van Morrison, before Classic FM favourite Ludovico Einaudi finished the bill on the Sunday as the sun set around the magnificent setting of the Woodstock stately home.

The man, who looks like a pint-sized version of Larry David from Curb Your Enthusiasm, is one of the finest producers of modern classical music, based on his history of film and TV arrangements. Indeed, those who might not know his back catalogue will still get a sense of familiarity.

But the wonder of a master arranger is that many of his works were given a twist to ensure the audience was always kept entertained and treated to something new.

A glance at those who sat enraptured by his edgy pieces, piano keys pounding alongside deep double bass riffs and duelling cellos, showed that his appeal is far reaching. There are not many classical artists who can boast emo-teens and leather-clad bikers alongside gentlemen in exceptionally well-cut blazers and ladies in fine cocktail dresses, among their throng of fans.

You can tell Einaudi is descended from politics – his grandfather was Prime Minister of Italy between 1948 and 1955 – as he has a certain statesmanlike ability to make his presence felt even among a more than capable supporting band.

Prize among his ensemble was a rugged, heavy-set, unshaven man, sporting a leather jacket, who looked as though he was Ludovico’s bodyguard and had accidentally walked on stage. But armed with an electric cello suddenly he was all glissando and vibrato, making the strings wail at his command, beautifully and hauntingly, with no inch of the neck unused in his pursuit of musical perfection.

With the sun setting on my face and the afternoon drinks taking hold, it was hard not to be lilted to a half-sleep by the slower, piano-only works of Einaudi that some will know him by. But his obvious delight and passion while playing could be tangibly felt around the palace, and any lethargy was gone by the time a rousing encore was demanded by the crowd.

Peter Truman