Dreamlike musical microcosms alternated with Argentinean tango in a (mainly) 20th-century journey from Piazzolla to Arvo Pärt and Magnar Åm. In such company Vivaldi stands out a bit, but in fact his Concerto for Violin, Cello and Organ, RV554a proved an invigorating prelude to the rest of the programme. For this, James Crabb’s accordion played the part of the organ, while the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Momentum Ensemble provided the string orchestra. Momentum’s concertmaster Flora Wong revealed a silky sound in her various solos, and Crabb took the first of many opportunities to explore emotions ranging from the severe to the soulful.

Composer Iain Grandage was the host for the evening, and while the stage was being reset after each work, he engaged the audience in witty dialogue. He discussed the repertoire, demonstrated various instruments and techniques, and generally made up much of the evening’s entertainment. This had the inevitable effect of neatly dividing each mood from the next, like switching the aural lights back on between each piece. Hence the concert felt like visiting a series of new worlds, chatting in between times with a sprightly and knowledgeable tour guide.

Piazzolla’s Oblivion was certainly a world unto itself. In this arrangement...