Sydney has been fortunate to host some top-flight international pianists this year with appearances by Víkingur Ólafsson, Kirill Gerstein and Joyce Yang already enjoyed.

We have also had two standout concerts featuring Alexander Melnikov giving brilliant performances of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at the weekend, followed up by this programme of Romantic masterpieces in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s excellent recital series.

For the first half we had the adventurous Russian’s take on two staples of the German repertoire in Franz Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy and Johannes Brahms’ Fantasies Op. 116. After interval he showed us his equally impressive French side with the second book of Préludes by Claude Debussy.

Schubert’s work starts with a commanding call to attention – with a rare fluffed note on this occasion – before he weaves a mood-swinging 20 minutes around the theme of his song Der Wanderer.

Melnikov proved a thrilling and intelligent guide for this musical journey with its multiple twists and turns, ranging from the serene and contemplative to the dark, stormy and passionate at the blink of an eye.

Alexander Melnikov. Photo © Julien Mignot

If you explore Melnikov’s...