To Sydney concertgoers, SSO stands for Sydney Symphony Orchestra, but this week another band with the same acronym flew in for its Australian debut, giving us the chance to compare the pair.

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra has been lauded by the BBC as one of the best in the world. Helmed by Chief Conductor and Music Director Hans Graf, two concerts with the same program gave Sydney and Melbourne audiences the chance to see whether the band lives up to the hype.

Hans Graf and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. Photo © Jay Patel

The concert also marked the debut of 18-year-old Singaporean violinist Chloe Chua who, with two albums already under her belt, is causing a big stir in Asia. She was paired with the SSO’s Sydney-born Principal Cello Ng Pei-Sian for a performance of Johannes Brahms’ last orchestral work, the Double Concerto.

Not having heard this work played live for some decades, and with only my landmark CD of David Oistrakh and Mstislav Rostropovich to guide me, this was a performance of some considerable quality. Chua, who...