Good things come in threes, they say. Well, make that four in the case of this smartly coherent programme of a trio of young Russian composers and the anticipated debut of 25-year-old piano wunderkind Daniil Trifonov. Actually, make that five, as the Sydney Symphony debut of the Spanish conductor Gustavo Gimeno was equally impressive, pulling together three works that, although separated by only a few years, reveal three wildly different musical, political and emotional personalities.

^{Daniil Trifonov & the SSO. Photos © Christie Brewster}

Prokofiev first, and the cocky young Turk’s Classical Symphony, perhaps the most charming initial essay in the form ever penned. Gimeno is an Abbado protégé, and displays some of that master’s understated refinement. A naturally elegant conductor, he brings out the natural elegance in Prokofiev. He was also Principal Percussionist with the Concertgebouw for several years, and a crisp, clean sense of rhythmic exactitude shone through in all three works on the programme.

He proved adept from the start at bringing out the inner details in Prokofiev’s delicate, economical writing, particularly the scrunchy bits that defy the symphony’s ‘Classical’ pretensions. The opening Allegro was all grace, though...