They’re a likable bunch, the London Symphony Orchestra – very English looking, arriving on the platform a little haphazardly, and exchanging jolly banter. But don’t be fooled – behind the friendly mask lurks a razor-sharp musical machine, and in the hands of Valery Gergiev, they are trained to kill!

For their second Sydney concert, the LSO presented two giants of Russian classical music – Rachmaninov and Shostakovich. Denis Matsuev was the soloist for Rachmaninov’s hyper-emotional Second Piano Concerto. Considered something of a Russian bear, a quick check of his Facebook page reveals his softer side with a snap yesterday showing him clearly delighted with an Australian cousin (it looks like Matsuev’s koala had more fun than Vladimir Putin’s at the recent G20).

Dwarfing the keyboard, the Russian pianist crouched low for most of what is probably the most romantic of all romantic piano concertos. I was, perhaps, surprised at how controlled he was early on – restrained and easy on the rubato. Gergiev drove the music hard, pulling out all the dramatic stops, though occasionally the orchestra swamped the soloist. The orchestra themselves meanwhile exhibited the same cast iron discipline and responsiveness that made their first concert so thrilling.

Two things I...