Yuja Wang in Santa Barbara and Gustavo Dudamel in Los Angeles

I intend to aim high in the coming musical season and, at least, make my editorial comments in a timely manner. For now, I’ll sum up.

On March 26, Sir Neville Mariner conducted the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara. The Academy of SMIF put on a terrific show, and its performance of Haydn’s London Symphony was full of feeling (despite what the Haydn haters say).

The highlight of the evening though was Yuja Wang. Female virtuosos are often praised for their “commanding stage presences,” which essentially means “she’s hot,” but Ms. Wang had the mother of all stage presences. Ms. Wang entered the stage in a strapless, royal blue ball gown with a full skirt of stiff, shimmering taffeta, which seemed to hold up the delicately small, 20 year-old pianist, rather than the other way around. Her jet black hair was cut in long, adolescent layers that hung loose and shook marvelously when she played. She looked as if she were ready to go to the prom, which gave her a girl-next-door allure and made the audience heave a parental sigh. She received a standing ovation for her Mozart Concerto in C minor with a sheepish, hair-bobbing pleasure as she handed the enormous flower arrangement to Sir Neville. She then played Mozart’s Turkish March for an encore with the energy of a Superball on steroids so that when it was only half over, we were all in stitches. It was the musical equivalent of a spanking.

More youth was in evidence at the L.A. Philharmonic on March 30 when Gustavo Dudamel conducted Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. What more can one say about him? He looks like a hair commercial; he’s musically amazing (which deserves repeating)—he’s a blast.