Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto begins with extraordinary immediacy. Think of it as an Olympic high dive.

After the briefest of orchestral breaths, the solo violin enters with its unforgettable lyrical theme – a phrase full of longing and urgency. Playing it in front of a packed concert hall is not for the faint of heart.

For the American violinist Benjamin Beilman, however, that do-or-die immediacy is one of the great attractions of the work.

“You warm up backstage, you take a nice bow, you meet the concertmaster, and then about a second and a half after the orchestra begins, you go. You can’t get cold.”

Benjamin Beilman. Portrait supplied

Beilman is returning to Australia to perform Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with acclaimed Norwegian conductor Tabita Berglund, in a program that places the concerto alongside two works connected by a fascinating musical conversation: Schubert’s famously unfinished Symphony No. 8 and Passacaglia by Norwegian composer Ludvig Irgens-Jensen.

Beilman made his official Australian debut in October 2016, embarking on a nationwide recital tour with pianist Andrew Tyson under Musica Viva. Shortly after, he made his Australian concerto...