It is very rare for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to present a program of a single composer, unless it’s a Wagner opera in concert or part of a Beethoven series.

Tonight, however, it did. Jean Sibelius, one of the most popular composers with the public, is always welcome – not least when the guest conductor is one of them world’s top Sibelians, Osmo Vänskä.

Osmo Vänskä conducts Sibelius at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. Photo © Jay Patel

Vänskä recorded the composer’s seven symphonies and all the tone poems (in various different editions) for BIS records’ complete Sibelius edition, and the symphonies a second time with the Minnesota Orchestra.

It is clear this music is second nature to him: the cues, the tempo gradations, the drama, and the unerring ebb and flow of the climaxes were all clear as a bell in his conducting. Right from the start, Vänskä balanced the subtle blend of the Finnish composer’s orchestral hues to perfection.

In the first half of the concert, we heard two short orchestral works: Pohjola’s Daughter (1906) and The Bard (1913).

In the first, Vänskä brought coherence to a piece that can...