Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
May 13, 2015

The German conductor and composer Matthias Pintscher was in Sydney for a return visit after a fine outing a few years back conducting Stravinsky. His reputation for clarity and a contemporary approach to the classics have earned him numerous plaudits, and in the company of modernist American pianist Peter Serkin the audience were treated to a bit of something old with a hint of something new and certainly something borrowed.

In many ways this was a superb concert, but it got off to an odd start with a fatally laid back reading of Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, the composer’s famous birthday aubade to his new wife Cosima. A work full of joy and affection ended up a little short on both as Pintscher appeared to focus on a sense of awakening from slumber rather than any more romantic awakening. With its emphasis on the heavier string sound rather than the perky woodwind representing the sounds of nature, this was more of a middle-aged Tristan than a young Siegfried, and it nearly ground to a halt altogether in the central section. The second half got a bit more of a move on, saved by some...