Music needs no translation,” said Oleg Zgogurin of Russian quartet Karavai during their concert at Wolvercote Village Hall on Thursday. The virtuoso musicians from Oxford’s twin-town of Perm in the Urals entranced the audience with an ecletic mixture of Russian folk tunes and modern classics. Karavai’s visit to Wolvercote was part of a trip to Oxfordshire, which also took in a concert at the Dorchester Festival and staging workshops at local schools.

The group play a mixture of balalaikas and domras - a stringed instrument that was the forerunner of the balalaika. Oleg (prima balalaika) was joined on stage by Tatyana Kulikova (alto domra), Anna Talnikova (prima domra) and Stanislav Yunkind - who play the impressive looking bass balalaika. This was a rare intimate concert for the quartet - rated as the best balalaika group in Russia - who are more used to performing in large concert halls, but they quickly warmed to their surroundings and the appreciative Wolvercote crowd. At times the group sounded lioke an orchestra - wringing sounds from their stringed instruments which mere mortals would think impossible. During the evening’s entertainment Oleg managed to make his instrument sound like a steel band, while Anna summoned up an’ invisible’ brass section on some numbers. This reviewer has never seen or heard anything quite like it.

Highlights of the evening were a sensational version of Argentinian composer Ástor Piazzolla’s Libertango and a wonderful medley of Beatles tunes, seamlessly woven together by this talented quartet.

Another tune that was a big hit with the audience was a version of Sammy Cahn and Jule Styn’s classic Let it Snow, made famous by the Rat Pack’s Dean Martin. Oleg’s preamble to the song was equally entertaining. He explained how, when playing in Italy, they had met a young man who requested that they play this American tune. They asked why an Italian would want them to play and American hit - he has explained that he was related to Marilyn Monroe (via Joe DiMaggio) and loved the song. “This is how Hollywood touched Karavai,” quipped Oleg. They played for Marilyn’s relative and they played it for us - a truly unique take on a popular classic. By the time the group got around to their version of Shocking Blue’s big hit Venus, the joint was really jumping - music needs no translation indeed.

This was a fantastic night in the company of some brilliant musicians. Let’s hope it can be repeated some time.