Lill, Orchestra of Opera North, González, Leeds Town Hall

A perfect blend of mechanistic Modernism and fairy-tale wonder, Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto rarely fails to entertain. After a carefully sculpted introduction, with a naïve clarinet theme unfolding into a rapturous string tutti, John Lill initially sounded just a bit too impatient and bluff - effective at conveying the music’s heft and punch but less willing to indulge the concerto’s softer side. Then we were surprised by a swaggering introduction to the second subject, followed by a nicely incisive declaration on winds and castanets. Lill relaxed nicely in the movement’s quietly shimmering centre, aided by the young Spanish conductor Pablo González’s fluid direction.