This concert offered a marriage made in heaven. It was an interesting pairing of Hungarians that saw composer Zoltán Kodaly on the same bill as Franz Liszt, men of different centuries, though not of distinctly different sensibilities. And it was a brilliant choice to end with Richard Strauss’ monumental tone poem Ein Heldenleben. Musically showy and as compositions way ahead of their time, all the pieces offered opportunities for conductor and soloists to strut their stuff with flair and panache. The combination of Maestro Johannes Fritzsch and Australian ex-patriate pianist, Leslie Howard, gave us rare musicians of the finest calibre. It was joyous to hear and watch such thoughtful and provocative music-making from masters of their craft.

Commencing with Kodaly’s exciting Dances of Galánta, Fritzsch showed his interpretative versatility in bringing this work, based on Hungarian gypsy tunes, evocatively to life. From the first melodic note, strongly post-Romantic yet steeped in traditional Hungarian folk-lore, the orchestra played with relish and passion. The slow, exquisitely soft opening passages of the Lento movement, with sweeping lush strings, gave way to the inherent czárdás rhythms and gypsy dances of the Allegretto Moderato with fine legato. The woodwind section was splendid. Principal Clarinettist, Irit...