The much-anticipated visit of German cellist Raphaela Gromes to Melbourne lives up to expectations, the audience in Hamer Hall on Thursday night treated to a consummate account of Dvořák’s resplendent Cello Concerto and certainly one of the finer renditions of this repertoire staple that I have heard in some years.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Peruvian Miguel Harth-Bedoya who has also recently been appointed Music Director Laureate of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (where he served as Music Director for some 21 years). 

Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Photo © Michal Novak

The program opens with fellow Peruvian Jimmy López’s Fiesta! Originally commissioned by Harth-Bedoya in 2007 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Lima Philharmonic Society, it has already been performed over 100 times since then (rare indeed for any new orchestral work). Some of that success lies in López’s exploration of musical material that bridges the domains of contemporary popular music and contemporary classical music – something that no doubt piques the interest of many an orchestral programmer!

As I have observed elsewhere, however, the symphony orchestra tends to be a poor substitute for the sheer elemental power of...