Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor enjoyed a serendipitous double run in Australia last week, with performances in two major cities on consecutive nights. Ukrainian-born Australian pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk took it centre stage with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, just a day after Sir Stephen Hough’s performance with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Bookended by Anna Clyne’s evocative This Midnight Hour and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, the program promised a journey of orchestral storytelling.

Elim Chan conducts the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Photo © Laura Manariti

Clyne’s noirish nocturne, making its second Melbourne appearance this year, provided a striking opening to the concert. Under the baton of guest conductor Elim Chan, the orchestra skilfully navigated the work’s contrasting vignettes, from swirling textures to ominous bass drum strikes and frenetic string passages. A fleeting A-minor melody seemed to foreshadow the folk-inspired melodies of Grieg’s Concerto.

Chan’s incisive gestures mirrored the rhythmic vitality of Clyne’s score, eliciting a precise performance. While the ANAM Orchestra’s recent interpretation of the same work brought the trumpet soloists out to the front of the orchestra, the MSO opted for a more subtle approach positioning them in the rear corners of the stage. While...