Sir Colin Davis 75th birthday concert, Barbican Hall, London

What a wonderful party! Sir Colin Davis's 75th birthday at the Barbican, in the presence of royals, colleagues, friends and a capacity audience, compèred by the affable James Naughtie, was a touching tribute to a man and musician who at times has had to work hard to convince a sceptical fraternity of British music critics. "Are they trying to destroy me?" he was quoted as saying at a low point in his fortunes at the Royal Opera – "They won't succeed!"

David Cairns, a fellow Berlioz traveller, in a warm tribute in the evening's Gala programme, traced the career of one of our greatest musicians, acknowledging too truly that we're a nation slow to applaud our own. But Wednesday's concert was characterised by affection and mutual admiration for a man so self-effacing that, as the inevitable birthday cake was brought on stage, a hint of pain crossed his features.

What a line-up of soloists! First off was Ian Bostridge in "Vallon sonore" from Berlioz's Les Troyens, demonstrating the strength of intimacy in this vast hall. Then came Slava Rostropovich, a fellow 75-year-old, at first surrounded by seven solo cellists from the LSO in Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras No 1, followed by Glazunov's melancholy, romantic Chant du ménestrel. If the tone is a little thinner and the vibrato a little slower, the magic of Rostropovich's music- making is still palpable.

Next came a veritable baby, the violinist Sarah Chang, welcomed by the LSO as though the most precious member of the family. She bubbled her way through Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen, revelling in her up-bow spiccato and left-hand pizzicato while casting a guilty look at Sir Colin as if to apologise for her delight in playing.

How to better that? Well, we still had Mozart, not at his greatest but a marvellous vehicle for Imogen Cooper, Radu Lupu and Mitsuko Uchida – his concerto for three pianos K242. So seamless was the ensemble that a "Happy Birthday" worked into the 1st movement cadenza, as designed, threw Sir Colin completely, the orchestra and soloists bathed in mischievous smiles.

If this was an occasion for Davis to conduct works by his favourite composers in the company of close musical friends, it was also a fund-raiser for LSO Discovery, an educational programme. "No interest from the young would mean no more music and that's unthinkable."