When the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra gave this weekend’s concert the nickname of “Orchestral Fireworks,” it was no joke. Saturday, the hall was packed to the rafters. Excitement was in the air.

Visiting artist Philippe Bianconi, playing that virtuosic favorite, Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Bianconi appears to be an artist of the old school. He radiated confidence — happiness, even, walking out onstage to tackle this challenging, angular piece. He wore old-fashioned tails, tossing them over the bench. You got the idea right away that the concerto was in good hands, as he reveled in its sharp corners and chromatics.

Prokofiev’s music suggests dance, and watching Bianconi was a little like watching a dancer. He sat still, conserving his movements. Watching him, though, you got a sense of what to listen for. His hands, landing on the keys and flying off them, played up the piece’s tricky rhythms, its stops and starts.

He has a fine rhythmic sense and he was relaxed enough to interact well with the orchestra and Music Director JoAnn Falletta. Bianconi always seemed alert, aware of everything going on around him. The slow movement was haunting and in the last movement, the romantic themes soared.

And the sparks flew. Both Bianconi and the orchestra — it is the orchestra’s piece as much as the pianist’s — took advantage of the music’s innate showmanship, nailing illicit applause after the first movement and an almost instantaneous standing ovation at the end. This concerto, like Rachmaninoff’s big concertos, was made to bring the house down. It did, and Bianconi rewarded us with a breathtaking, exquisitely quiet excerpt from Robert Schumann’s “Symphonic Etudes.”

Berlioz’s hallucinogenic “Symphonie Fantastique,” which followed intermission, was a little long, considering how strenuous the Prokofiev was, for the performers and for the audience. But the orchestra’s sheer enthusiasm grabbed you. As in the Prokofiev, the music’s sheer range of sound effects got fine treatment in Kleinhans.

“Scenes in the Country” saw musicians stationed in the balcony. Pierre Roy poured out his exquisite oboe solo, imitating a shepherd’s flute, from high up in a far corner. I never remember seeing a musician stationed that far north before. Timpani in mid-balcony created quadrophonic thunder.

The last movement was an appropriately nightmarish whirl and ended with massive volume and pizazz.

The night began with Stravinsky’s “Fireworks,” a piece that glittered and sputtered just like a sparkler.

“Orchestral Fireworks” repeats at 2:30 p. m. today.

Concert Review

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

Classics concert with pianist Philippe Bianconi. Saturday evening and 2:30 p. m. today in Kleinhans Music Hall.