Sydney Opera House, October 4, 2013

After a long standing ovation Zubin Mehta hushed the delirious Sydney Opera House crowd and, pointing to the orchestra behind him said: “Do you realise what you’ve got here?” After a resounding “yes” from the audience, the 77-year-old maestro added: “Don’t let go of them!”

The 105 musicians he was referring to were the Australian World Orchestra who are performing three concerts – one in Sydney and two in Melbourne – as a follow-up to their dazzling debut under conductor Alexander Briger two years ago. Made up of stalwarts from Australia’s orchestras as well as ex-pats working in Europe, Asia and America, the AWO didn’t put a foot wrong in their sophomore tour and the music just seemed to leap off the page. “They are such fine musicians,” Mehta told Limelight before the concert. “Even if they haven’t all grown up with each other, they know the repertoire they are playing inside out and they’ll have such fun playing with each other and being in each other’s company.”

AWO founder and artistic director, Briger, backed by his uncle, the late Sir Charles Mackerras, launched the orchestra in 2011, flying in musicians from all over the world....