The Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Friday matinee Saint-Saens in the Morning saw a rare beast and a not-so-rare menagerie grace the Opera House’s Concert Hall, pairing the French composer’s La Muse et le poète (The Muse and the Poet), Op. 132, with the ever-popular The Carnival of the Animals.

La Muse et le poète for violin, cello and orchestra, isn’t sighted too often – in fact, Assistant Conductor Toby Thatcher led the orchestra in what was the SSO’s first ever performance of the work. Originally planned as a piano trio before Saint-Saëns orchestrated it, the piece feels less like a double concerto than a musical conversation between two soloists – though the evocative title was a marketing ploy insisted upon by the publisher rather than creative inspiration on the part of the composer.

Principal Second Violin Kirsty Hilton and Principal Cellist Catherine Hewgill brought the conversation to elegant life as the soloists, Hewgill’s lines warm-toned and resonant, complimenting Hilton’s clean sound – and both finding plenty of lyricism in Saint-Saëns’ rhapsodic, almost improvisatory, work. Thatcher led the orchestra with panache, a spring in his movements during the bubblier moments, while Hewgill’s dark, motoring cello figures were a highlight. The conversation – following a magical passage...