The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra invited audiences into its 2019 season with the classics on a sweltering March evening with Beethoven and Mozart, conducted by Richard Tognetti and performed to a Federation Concert Hall that was filled to the brim.

The TSO’s new CEO Caroline Sharpen gave us a warm welcome before the works began, taking to the stage for a short speech in which she reminded us all that the orchestral experience offers “pauses in time of beauty and truth in a [world] that is increasingly challenging”. The first pause of beauty came with Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture. Sharpen’s speech appeared to function as a fanfare of its own, as the orchestra provided an animated response.

Richard Tognetti. Photograph © Mick Bruzzese

It was a fitting season opener; but some trivial distractions emerged from the stage: a few early violin entries; a musician’s wristwatch that reflected light towards my eyes every few phrases; the occasional grunt of excitement emerging most likely from the conductor, in line with some particularly forcible cues. (I actually quite enjoyed that last distraction.) Nevertheless, the performance was undeniably enjoyable – and it cannot be disputed that it captured the dramatic...