When Simone Young conducted a sumptuous five-star performance of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre earlier this month it was difficult to imagine a Sydney Symphony Orchestra concert that could possibly follow it.

But that was reckoning without the charismatic power and calibre of 48-year-old Russian-British conductor Vasily Petrenko and a knockout reading of a work that actually did live up to the cliché of “changing the face of music”.

Vasily Petrenko. Photo supplied

Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring revolutionised music when it was premiered as a ballet in 1913. It still thrills with its visceral pounding rhythms and daring harmonies.

Petrenko, who is Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, made his SSO debut in 2011 conducting Dmitri Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony. At the time, he was one-third into his 15-year tenure as Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.

Since that time he has lost none of his charisma, his long and slender hands coaxing the rich colours and moods from his players. Slim and athletic – he’s a fan of the Liverpool football team and could easily pass as a handy midfielder – he has an engaging ready smile and a...