Performer: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Despite the disruption, the musicians of the MSO under Chief Conductor Jaime Martín continue their interesting programme of Sutherland, Dvořák and Tchaikovsky.

Under Jaime Martín, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra showcase Indigenous music through William Barton’s didgeridoo alongside Elgar and Mussorgsky, creating a visually and sonically vivid, if uneven, evening.

The double choir triumphs in the MSO’s massive, mostly successful attack on an English choral masterpiece all too rarely performed in Australia.

A celebration of composer, soloist and orchestral excellence in an eclectic, if slightly eccentric, gala opening program to launch the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's 2018 season.

Pitch-perfect Bartók by Ibragimova and a boldly expansive reading of Shostakovich's Fifth by Hrůša made for an insightful evening's reflection on musical early modernity.

Under Benjamin Northey's baton and Kristian Chong's fingers, Bizet's Carmen Suite and Saint-Saëns' Second Piano Concerto dazzle, but it's Elgar's Sospiri and Enigma Variations that truly made the evening.