The ASO’s presentation of the four symphonies of Johannes Brahms across four concerts over 10 days offers audiences an unparalleled opportunity to appreciate the composer’s approach to symphonic form.

ASO chief conductor Mark Wigglesworth also teamed with celebrated pianist Sir Stephen Hough to pair each of the Brahms symphonies with a piano concerto, and in the course of the four concerts, they are presenting concertos by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Grieg and, for the final concert on 31 May, by Hough himself.

Such immersive experiences, concentrated into this mini-season, provide an unmatched musical experience.

The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Town Hall. Photo © Jack Fenby

It was in this, the third concert in the Brahms series, that Hough and the ASO gave a spellbinding performance of Edvard Grieg’s triumphant Piano Concerto in A minor (Op. 16), written in 1868 when the composer, a new father, was just 24.

The tympani heard at the opening heralds the concerto, but it might also be seen as heralding Grieg’s development of Norway’s nationalistic music. Grieg championed Norwegian folk music, and the three-movement concerto is infused with it.

Especially notable throughout was Wigglesworth and Hough’s control of tempi to bring...