ON a recent promotional visit for the International Eisteddfod members of classical violin quartet Bond promised to blast off the new multi-million-pound roof of the famous pavilion.
And at a couple of points last Thursday night it looked like they might do just that.
Because fire engines twice dashed up to the Eisteddfod field, just before and after the girls appeared on stage.
However, according to North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, they were both false alarms.
And Bond certainly hit the ground running, with a lively number called Viva – an exuberant celebration of life in up-beat musical terms.
Without a break it was on to a number called Duel, in which the two blonde violinists, South Wales own Eos Chater and Australian Tania Davis, duelled it out at the front of the stage to see who had the deftest touch with the flashing bow.
The girls next threw more than a little spice into the mix with a spirited and much-appreciated interpretation of Jai Ho, the a Hindi song composed for the smash-hit 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire.
There was another bit of hot Bollywood before the foursome took off with Fly Away, a soaring number penned for their second album by cellist Gay-Yee Westerhoff.
It was then time for something a little more traditional with the girls’ arrangement of Summer and Winter from Vivaldi’s the Four Seasons.
The big last offering was one called Explosive, which did precisely what its title suggested, touching off a riot of in-time clapping from the large audience.
And on Sunday, a full 12 years after his Llangollen debut, the inimitable Nigel Kennedy returned for a spectacular concert featuring music from Bach to Duke Ellington with a stunning climactic crescendo.
“Apart from Aston Villa winning the Premiership I really can’t think of many things that could give me as much pleasure as walking out on that huge Llangollen stage and being greeted by the unmistakable Welsh welcome,” he said.