Immersive? Taking the plunge? Crossing uncharted waters? All of the above. And more. Fresh from a regional WA tour, Asher Fisch and WASO here unleash a veritable tsunami of orchestral favourites and a bold new work on a Winthrop Hall audience unafraid of the crashing musical breakers cascading from the stage.

We set sail with Wagner’s Flying Dutchman Overture and a performance that portends only good things to come. Operatically, Fisch has as sturdy a pair of sea legs as they come. His conducting therefore draws thrilling playing alike from the brass as they intone the Dutchman’s curse, and the strings as they paint tempestuous sea pictures in the air. The controlled theatricality with which Fisch builds up the tension as we push on towards Senta’s redemptive theme is extraordinary.

Asher Fisch and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra at Winthrop Hall. Photo © Daniel James Grant

The voyage now safely underway, it is time to present the evening’s undoubted centrepiece, the world premiere performance of Australian composer Paul Stanhope’s five-movement choral symphony Mahāsāgar, commissioned for WASO by Catherine Dunn and members of the WASO Chorus.

Undoubtedly a major new contribution to...