Canadian star violinist James Ehnes is so taken with Sydney Opera House Concert Hall’s newly reborn acoustics that he joked with his audience that he could happily “play all night”.

“It’s a miracle, and at last it matches the outstanding talents of these outstanding musicians on stage and the beauty of the surrounds outside,” he said.

This was after his first encore – a riveting eight minutes of Eugène Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 3 Ballade, and before a second, the serene Largo from JS Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 3 – following an elegant and impeccable reading of Johannes Brahms’ concerto with Sydney Symphony Orchestra in a Symphony Hour concert that ballooned to a magical 90 minutes.

The concert – the first of three – also marked the SSO debut of brilliant young Englishman Finnegan Downie Dear, winner of the prestigious Mahler Competition in 2020, conducting a magical performance of Maurice Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother Goose), part of the continuing celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

James Ehnes performs Brahms at Sydney Opera House. Photo © Cassandra Hannagan

Last here in 2022 to play the Beethoven concerto with Simone Young conducting,...