There is a strong collegiate feeling at Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s latest Classics in the City concert when Harry Bennetts takes the sold-out City Recital Hall’s stage for a performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto.

Not only is it an opportunity for the young Associate Concertmaster to enjoy the spotlight, but it is a chance to hear the beautiful tone of the 1716 ‘Hazelwood’ Grancino violin once owned by the late Donald Hazelwood, SSO’s Concertmaster from 1965–1998.

And to top it off, it marks the return of one of the orchestra’s popular alumni, former Principal Cello-turned-conductor Umberto Clerici, to guide them through the concerto and its companion piece, Schubert’s Tragic Symphony No. 4.

Harry Bennetts, the ‘Hazelwood’ Grancino violin, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Photo © Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Bennetts’ skills as an orchestral leader hold him in good stead for this most loved of concertos, which is as much a symphony as it a showcase for the soloist. After the lengthy orchestral opening Bennetts’ entry shows all the poise, taste and sensitivity that is to mark the next 40 or...