Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
September 23, 2015

As class acts go, they don’t come more premiere league than Anne-Sophie Mutter. In fact, it’s probably fair to say that the German virtuoso is a league of her own. Three visits in four years says a great deal for her respect for, and her camaraderie with, the players of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, all of which were on display as she proved what an underrated gem the Dvořák Violin Concerto actually is.

Before that though she introduced the main draw card with a gorgeous rarity – the same composer’s early F Minor Romance for violin and orchestra. A modest subset of the SSO was her partner in an intimate, lyrical serenade of almost chamber-like proportions. Rocking strings and delicate woodwind gestures presaging a lullaby formed the bedrock as Mutter eased herself into the ensemble with a veritable ‘song without words’, her silvery tone aching with wistful longing. The impassioned poetry of her playing was breath-taking in its honest simplicity, and thanks to conductor Jakub Hruša’s perfect balance of orchestra and soloist, every musical detail was laid bare before our eager...