Ehnes is eloquent in Prokofiev, plus a Swedish rarity.

Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
October 10, 2014

Nothing whets the appetite like a musical rarity! Apparently the Sydney Symphony Orchestra have only ever played one piece before by the Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar, so it was about time to give him another airing in this otherwise all-Russian concert conducted by Stenhammar’s fellow-Scandinavian, the Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård.

Written in 1896, his Excelsior! Overture can’t quite make up it’s mind if it is Brahms, Wagner or even Richard Strauss. A thrusting theme with soaring strings and stabbing brass gives way to a lengthy ruminative discourse. The SSO gave it as good a run as it could hope for, the conductor urging Stenhammar’s cause with evident enthusiasm. It’s pleasant enough music, well crafted, decently orchestrated but, as with much of Stenhammar’s output, it engages in the moment and then it’s gone. A bit like the composer himself, alas.

Gordon Kerry’s perceptive program note for Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto draws attention to its conscious striving for “formal clarity and emotional directness”. Written on the move from Paris via Baku and ultimately ending up in Madrid, the work has a pan-European quality with just a...