Despite what it packs into barely an hour, Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (hereafter, Erde) is insufficiently long to fill a subscription concert. Hence, the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s brief first half, which featured two suitably complementary works.

Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll originated as a birthday gift to his wife Cosima on 25 December 1870, honouring their infant son, Siegfried. The ACO took this opener at quite a lick, sacrificing some of its laid-back pastoral connections – heard in Wagner’s then almost completed opera, Siegfried – for more emphasis on the energetic birdsong and sunrise references, mentioned in the Idyll’s fuller title. This opener, with its crisp section joins and speed, appropriately contrasted with the wallowing, dirge-like renditions of many famous conductors of yore.