Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique is a lifetime in a symphony.

Growing in power and strength throughout, the strings bloom exquisitely in the third movement — 80 musicians of the Sydney Symphony at full stride — before falling away into poetic oblivion at the end. It was Tchaikovsky’s final symphony, one he described as the best thing he’d ever written. It’s hard to disagree.

Conductor Roderick Cox is a rapidly rising star, praised for his ‘finesse’ (Boston Globe) and ‘riveting intensity’ (Seen and Heard), and in his Sydney debut he brings that to bear on this concert of beautiful strings, glowing trumpets and lush moods.

Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun creates a dreamlike atmosphere with its magical, haunting opening. And acclaimed cellist Li-Wei Qin brings his ‘immaculate precision and elegance’ (Sydney Morning Herald) to the Sydney premiere of Barber’s touching Cello Concerto.