When Chinese superstar pianist Lang Lang last stormed the stage of the Sydney Opera House in 2016, Limelight’s Clive Paget described his opening bars of the Grieg Piano Concerto as “crashing in with power and passion.” We saw a different side of Lang Lang, however, in his thoughtful, almost meditative solo entry to Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 24, K.491, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the pianist finding a stillness to contrast the animated reading David Robertson gave the opening tutti.

Lang Lang, David Robertson and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Photo © Rae Sturm

Between Australian trips, Lang Lang suffered an injury to his left arm, which more or less put paid to public performances for over a year and it is only since last July, when he opened the Tanglewood Festival with this same Mozart Concerto (swapping out the Tchaikovsky he was scheduled to perform) that he has been back on the touring circuit. Famous for his distinctive, flamboyant – and therefore, for some, controversial – performances of Romantic repertoire, he has recently been favouring the comparatively understated Mozart C Minor Concerto (which he also performs with the Melbourne...