It was refreshing, to say the least, that two sets of concerts given by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the Opera House in mid-February had the symphonies of Robert Schumann as their theme. With two symphonies assigned to each program it was possible in less than a week to hear the entire standard representation of Schumann as a symphonist. The refreshing elements in this plan included its escape from programming formulas and its reflection of the evidently genuine wish of David Robertson, the SSO’s chief conductor and artistic director, to demonstrate that the current representation of Schumann’s symphonies in orchestral concerts understates their worth.