In the final stretch of the competition, the 18th Century Concerto round puts the finalists under the microscope. Without the pyrotechnics and high-intensity bravura of Romantic virtuosity, the subtlety and style of the pianists is laid bare. All six finalists have chosen works by Mozart for their 18th-century concerto (Damien Beaumont’s running joke for the evening: “I hope you like Mozart!”) and the first three performers demonstrated the variety of musical personalities and alert timbres that can be drawn from the composer’s work. To the delight, I’m sure, of both the instrument’s makers and the Sydney Opera House’s stage crew, all three competitors in the first concert chose to play the Fazioli piano.

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, with Benjamin Northey conducting, launched into the majestic opening of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 25 in C Major K.503, while the first soloist, 22-year-old American pianist Kenneth Broberg, listened to the orchestral tutti with his hands resting in his lap, reaching out occasionally to brush the keys, before the subtle piano entry.

Broberg leant into the solo’s melancholy second theme, rose off the stool as he crested the movement’s peaks and bounced along with the quirky descending chords. His cadenza (Alfred Brendel’s?) was juicy...