“Radiant beauty” was the subtext of Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s latest tour, one that welcomed back Spanish pianist Javier Perianes to continue his cycle of Beethoven piano concertos.

The tag was supremely apt, not just for the music – the fourth concerto coupled with the Pastoral Symphony as well as a first hearing of the opening movement of a new symphony by Australian composer Mary Finsterer – but also for the performances themselves.

Benjamin Northey and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Photo supplied

The concert was to have featured SSO Chief Conductor Simone Young but she had to withdraw at the 11th hour for urgent surgery. Instead, the packed house was treated to the appearance of a familiar face in Victorian live wire Benjamin Northey, a regular guest in between fulfilling his joint duties with the Melbourne and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras.

The rapport between Northey and the players, as well as the audience, was apparent from the opening work on the program, the 12-minute Stabat Mater Symphony – Movement I by Canberra-born Finsterer, a work commissioned for the SSO’s 50 Fanfares Project.

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