★★★★☆ Robertson and the SSO revel in all the fun of Stravinsky’s fair.

Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
August 17, 2016

There’s a line in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along where the cynical ‘give-‘em-a-tune-they-can-hum’ Broadway producer flops out the immortal line “I’ll let you know when Stravinsky has a hit”. His insinuation is that the Russian darling, then resident in America, was too clever by half, and lacking in memorable melody. Well, he should have had a listen to Petrushka, surely Stravinsky’s most hummable score, and one that blossoms not only with colour but also with the catchiest music the composer ever wrote. David Robertson’s pulse-quickening performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra certainly caught the spirit of the piece, delivering all the fun of the fair, and a great deal more besides.

Getting off to a particularly ballsy start, it was clear from the outset that this would be a weighty, rhythmic reading – a real peasant affair with none of your mimsy-pimsy impressionistic waffle. His precise beat shifted from theme to theme as Stravinsky piles Pelion upon Ossa to perfectly convey the limited attention span of your average fairground crowd, the colourful percussion especially prominent. An audience comprised...