Performers throughout the Commonwealth cannot help but be aware of the shadow of the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as they take to the stage this week. As fortune would have it for conductor Asher Fisch and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the particular combination of moments of delicate reflection, rousing emotionality and tender sentimentality with which their scheduled Piano Power program was imbued created just the right atmosphere for both commemoration and healing.

Behzod Abduraimov performs with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Photo © Peter Wallis

By way of acknowledgment of this communal grieving and in honour of the late Queen, the concert began with a last-minute addition to the program in the form of the Remembrance Sunday favourite, Nimrod from Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Under the careful and sure hands of Fisch, the QSO opened with an exquisitely contained pianissimo and a perfectly restrained tempo that wasn’t allowed to run away, as so often happens in performances of this work when the dynamic builds. The mighty cello section’s countermelody sang through the familiar tune creating a heartbreaking tension and release, building to the majestic yet ever-so-slightly jarring brass entries,...