Plenty of people would have Nigel Kennedy thrown into the Tower of London for alleged crimes against classical music decorum: grievous hairstyle, false laddishness, flagrant irreverence etc.

Their convictions would have been confirmed by this performance to open the Tower Festival, which, with its huge stage and two giant-screen relays, was as close to stadium rock as classical gets.

There’s nothing wrong with that, nor with devoting the concert to JS Bach and Duke Ellington, no longer musical strangers.

Kennedy had brought together two highly proficient ensembles, the Philharmonia Orchestra and a jazz band of regular collaborators. Yet the amplification seemed reluctant to give much weight to either, so that too often the accompaniment went for nothing. 

Kennedy seemed intent on being a team player throughout. Of course his fiddle-playing virtuosity was plain to see and hear but with his back to the audience for most of the show, he rarely let himself break loose and spent almost as much time talking as playing. As usual, Nige’s blokey wit and studied shambolism soon wore thin.

Perhaps surprisingly, Bach came off best, notably in three Two-part Inventions arranged for violin and cello (Kathy Stephenson). Here was the real Kennedy: intense, collaborative, brilliant. For Ellington, he played an electric violin but the arrangements were reverent rather than bold. A Scottish folk encore brought much-needed energy but by then half of his audience was on the way home.

The Tower Festival continues until 20 September. www.towerfestival.