Long redeemed, Sibelius shines under a Finnish baton

In 1940, an American composer and critic described Sibelius’ second symphony as ‘vulgar, self-indulgent and provincial’.

Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is playing with the Sydney Symphony.

In 1940, American composer and music critic Virgil Thomson described Sibelius’s second symphony as “vulgar, self-indulgent and provincial beyond all description”. Times and tastes change. Thomson’s comment now seems utterly fatuous and mean-spirited after listening to Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s superb performance of the work on Wednesday night.

They took each movement at a fast pace, but their well-judged tempo contrasts, scrupulous dyn­amic control, dark-hued, unvarnished sonorities and tight-knit ensemble created a dramatic, intensely expressive interpretation that revealed an insightful understanding of the symphony’s distinctive structure and each movement’s specific character.

French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet was a dashing, debonair soloist in Saint-Saens’s fifth piano concerto, Egyptian. His scintillating dexterity and incisive articulation made short work of the composer’s unabashed displays of virtuosity for its own sake. By contrast, his elegant phrasing and exquisite touch appreciated the concerto’s passages of cantabile lyricism.

The SSO’s polished, sensitive accompaniments realised its beguiling facade of exotic, faux-Orientalism. Saraste’s approach to the concert-opening Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun by Debussy was intriguing. His faster-than-usual tempos and pointed sense of contrast generated momentum and muscular vigour while still illuminating its evocative palette of instrumental colours and capturing its dominant mood of languid sensuality.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Piano: Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Conductor: Jukka-Pekka Saraste. Sydney Opera House, October 17.Concert repeated tonight and tomorrow. Tickets: $49-$152. Bookings: [phone] or online.