Ballades and Blues: Peter Jablonski at Queen Elizabeth Hall

An engaging soloist, passionate conductor and fantastic orchestral playing made light work of a slightly lop-sided and overlong concert. 

This past weekend offered a taste of the great British summer with temperatures soaring into the high 20s. And yet, despite the lure of an afternoon spent reclining on the sunny beaches of the South Coast, large crowds flocked to the Lighthouse in Poole to watch the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra perform in their annual Benevolent Fund Concert, led by Portuguese conductor Rui Pinheiro.

In his lunchtime recital, Polish pianist Peter Jablonski selected a programme that clearly included some his personal favourites. The result was an affectionate performance that felt less like a public recital and more like sharing the enjoyment of music with a friend.

Como el aprendiz de brujo, bajo su batuta mágica Antoni Wit logró que la Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra y el pianista Peter Jablonski transformaran las composiciones de los grandes compositores rusos del siglo XIX y XX en olas bulliciosas y torbellinos de vientos que cautivaron el auditorio del Baluarte.

The road to immersion is paved with modish deflections as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment performs 20th-century English string music.