The sounds of an apple being crunched, vocal percussion and the rapping of a Japanese hip-hop artist were variously blended with music from the Australian Art Orchestra last Friday night in a concert affirming its reputation as a leading creative force.

Celebrating its 30-year anniversary, the Australian Art Orchestra’s concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Elisabeth Murdoch Hall presented a repertoire that looked back over three decades years of ground-breaking compositions and collaborations and toward the future.

Artistic director and pianist Aaron Choulai was the concert’s MC and acknowledging the AAO’s legacy described it as “more of a living, evolving project.’’ An example of its musical daring and cross-cultural intersections was the performance of Japanese hip-hop artist Hikaru Tanaka.

As he delivered his rapid fired lyrics in Japanese, the timing and rhythm became all-important. The AAO musicians caught his cadences, their rise and fall, like someone might catch a wave.

Even when looking back, AAO never sounds sound less than innovative. It performed two reimagined suites from Paul Grabowsky’s Ringing The Bell Backwards, the first major work...