There were three stars shining brightly at Hobart’s Federation Concert Hall last night: Alexander Gavrylyuk, Maestro Bellincampi and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

Alexander Gavrylyuk. Photo © Mika Bovan

First, Alexander Gavrylyuk. His performance of Schumann’s Piano Concerto was profoundly moving. Despite the concert being named after him, this performance was definitely all about Schumann. Gavrylyuk’s humility was evident throughout: there was an admirable absence of flamboyant gesture and a quiet commitment to the music. As he played his final notes he leaned respectfully in to the piano, as if bowing before the genius of Schumann. It goes without saying that he managed all the virtuosic fireworks with apparent ease. Beyond technical prowess, he has an extraordinary mastery over time, stretching and pushing it in service to the music. As he stretched an interval, I could feel every semitone of the space between the notes, giving an emotional meaning far beyond that inherent in the notes themselves. His choice of encore – Traumerei from Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood – was perfect. It’s quiet, dreamlike magic didn’t break the spell of the...