Ashkenazy relives his former Mahlerian glories while Sydney is treated to a class act on the fiddle.

Sydney Opera House, November 13, 2013

Vladimir Ashkenazy’s stint at the helm of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has brought many stellar guests to the harbour city including violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and pianists Evgeny Kissin and the exciting Uzbek youngster Behzod Abduraimov, but his parting gift of four concerts with his old friend Pinchas Zukerman was the cream on the cake of his memorable five-year tenure.

The 65-year-old American-based Israeli virtuoso has been here before – notably for the Olympic Arts Festival in 2000 – but his return has been eagerly anticipated and the packed out audience for the first of these appearances was not disappointed.

From the opening flourishes over the drum roll of Max Bruch’s concerto No 1, Zuckerman and his Guarneri del Gesu “Dushkin” fiddle illustrated eloquently the composer’s reply to why he had chosen to write for it rather than his own instrument, the piano: “The violin can sing a melody better than a piano can, and melody is the soul of music.”

This was a performance packed with artistry, character and effortless technique. When the orchestra lagged slightly for a few...