As the audience’s applause reverberates around the wooden clad Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House, Stephen Hough and the orchestra’s conductor for the evening, Hans Graf, return to the podium to take another bow. Graf playfully invites Hough to retake his seat at the piano for an encore and Hough, much to the delight of the audience obliges, announcing to the hall as a hush descends once again that now he has played a lesser known work of Dvořák’s he will now play one of the composer’s better known pieces. Hough plays the unmistakable opening bars of Dvořák’s Humoresque and an appreciative titter wriggles its way around the hall. Hough’s performance is sensitive, agile, light, charismatic, playful and technically flawless ­– everything a great performance by a great pianist should be. It’s a pity then that for Hough’s main performance last night with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra he performed Dvořák’s rarely presented and infamously imperfect Piano Concerto in G Minor (0p.33).

I’m beginng this review by putting the proverbial cart before the horse because Hough is a pianist of exceptional talent and his well-deserved reputation as one of the world’s most sought after soloists should be front of mind...