This tight, brilliant concert with a pared-back WASO under the direction (from the violin) of Australian Chamber Orchestra Principal Violin Satu Vänskä had more than a whiff of the ACO about it, both repertoire- and performance-wise. Neither of which was a bad thing.

The evening kicked off in minimalist fashion with WASO Composer-in-Residence Olivia Davies’ 2018 work Crystalline, formerly performed and recorded by the ACO. Scored for strings alone, it made for a contemplative opener, individual tones reaching out to form more complex patterns to, according to the composer, evoke “an image of light refracting through crystal forms.”

Crystalline was followed by a lusher burst of orchestral colour with Bernard Rofe’s arrangement of Lili Boulanger’s Impressionist evocation of spring, D’un matin de printemps. Rofe successfully pares back the orchestral version of the work to two flutes, two oboes, bassoon, two horns and strings; Vänskä and WASO for their part relished the contrasting colours, textures and moods with both precision and a certain vernal insouciance.

Satu Vänskä and West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Photo © Daniel James Grant

A sparkling account of Mozart’s Symphony No. 21 A major found Vänskä and WASO equally amenable...