In this concert there are French connections at every turn: conductor, soloist and three great composers.

Hear young French conductor Lionel Bringuier, the return to Sydney of cellist Gautier Capuçon, and three great French composers.

The most notorious is Hector Berlioz, composer of the Symphonie fantastique. Weird, incredible, terrific or plain fantastic - however you translate the title, this rule-breaking symphony invites listeners into the tumultuous drug-induced dreams of a morbid lover. Its first listeners loved every minute. We still do today.

Henri Dutilleux - the grand old man of French music - belongs to the tradition of Debussy and Messiaen and his music shares their instinct for colour and originality of sound. In Métaboles the musical ideas literally metamorphose under the master's hand as the mood shifts from ethereal to flamboyant.

We stay with flamboyance for Saint-Saëns' first cello concerto, exquisitely crafted to show off the soloist's virtuosity and style.