It felt like the Last Night of the Proms.

The program opened with an exquisite interpretation of Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, with a notable solo by principal flautist Prudence Davis.

The MSO was one of four orchestras that co-commissioned English composer Edmund Finnis to write a cello concerto. Finnis composed it with Sheku Kanneh-Mason in mind and was in the audience for this Australian premiere performance.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Photo © Laura Manariti

Finnis’ concerto broke the traditional mould. There were no virtuosic high-wire acts, though the solo part must have been challenging in many ways. Nor did the soloist and orchestra take turns as they would in a traditionally structured work. Instead, the soloist and small orchestra jointly created a single sonic image or sensation.

Each of the three movements had a distinctive ambience. In The Shimmering Space, the lower strings and brass provided a vibrating, textured soundscape that was constantly in flux. Around this, Finnis exploited the cello’s wide register and Kanneh-Mason’s extensive palette of sounds, so that the high, evocative solo cello melodies cut through the ambient orchestral part.

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