The American wunderkind teams with Sufjan Stevens and Bryce Dessner for a song cycle with a difference.

When I press Nico Muhly for details of what he’s been listening to on his iPod during his visit to Sydney to perform his new song cycle, the New York-based composer giggles nervously. “I was scared you’d ask that!”

He indulges me and swipes at the touchscreen. “A bunch of Etta James for no apparent reason. Parsifal – I’ve done a myself a disservice, I think, by not studying it as thoroughly as I have other Wagner operas. Wow, look at all this Bach. That’s some serious goodness.” He lights up with palpable excitement. “And have you got the new Lionel Ritchie? I’m totally obsessed; you’re going to die, how good it is!”

And then, he counters: “What are you listening to?” I flick through the ‘Recently Added’ section of my own device and rattle off a list of Baroque composers and indie bands I hope he’ll find adequately eclectic. Before I know it, we’re playing each other Bach cantatas over the phone – not my usual practice in an interview.

Now that we’ve scoped each other out, Muhly advises me to see his...