A slightly odd programme, this. An intriguing new concerto from a senior Australian composer sandwiched between a 20th-century backward glancing Russian symphony and a suite from a 19th-century forward-thinking German opera. Not only that, unconventionally the symphony came first, the overture last and the concerto in the second half. Topsy-turvy it may have been, but thanks to a keen-eared conductor and an orchestra on top form, it held the attention throughout, though perhaps the sum of its parts was greater than the whole.

Rachmaninov’s Third Symphony may have been a flop in 1936, but on reflection today it looks very much like his finest essay in the form. A pity, as its lukewarm reception probably put the kibosh on the neurotic composer’s appetite to try his hand at a Fourth. With its big, romantic tunes and lush scoring, it feels as much of a pitch to Hollywood as anything else (though you can’t imagine MGM waiting for the notoriously glacial Rachmaninov to deliver a movie score). British conductor Mark Wigglesworth provided the ideal blend of precision in the complex opening exchange of themes and willingness to relax into the grand, swoony second subject. Channelling his inner romantic, he brought a...