Performer: Antoni Wit

Seamless playing and magical moments from the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya in a youthful programme meant that a slight lack of flair and grit felt even more amiss.

Surprisingly, this was the Warsaw Philharmonic’s first visit to the Proms, invited as part of this year’s focus on Polish music. About time too, one might say, and particularly so with it being both Lutosławski’s centenary year (and almost Panufnik’s too, shy by a year), and this the farewell concert of outgoing Artistic Director of twelve years, Antoni Wit.

This concert by Poland’s national orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic, attracted a near-capacity audience which had in it a fair sprinkling of members of the local Polish community, judging from overheard conversations and some shouts of “Jeszcze raz!” (“More!”) at the end.

The Bulgarian capital is truly at the meeting point of world cultures, and the Sofia Philharmonic offers a heady mix of the world’s best classical soloists, as well as homegrown talent.