MUSIC Sydney Symphony Conductor: Charles Dutoit. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, June 5. SWISS conductor Charles Dutoit is a renowned interpreter of French music. On his previous Sydney visits, the outstanding performances of Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust and Romeo et Juliette have been his most impressive achievements. Consequently, expectations were high for his interpretation of another large-scale, 19th-century French masterwork - Saint-Saens' Symphony No 3 (the Organ Symphony). Dutoit's 1982 recording of the symphony is one of the benchmark versions: swift, energetic, vivacious and flamboyant. Happily, he took a similar approach in this concert with the Sydney Symphony. Fast speeds, strong tempo and dynamic contrasts and incisive attack created thrilling moments. By contrast, slower sections benefited from lilting rhythms and shapely phrasing. In the work's finale, David Drury's commanding organ chords and the riot of orchestral colours brought the symphony to a spectacular close. Although Dutoit and the orchestra constructed a magnificent musical edifice, minor cracks could be discerned. Textures were intermittently indistinct and the piano solos were imprecisely articulated. More important, the woodwinds' sectional blend never quite clicked into gear: focused in some places; diffuse in others. The distinctive music of Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974) deserves to be better known. His concerto for seven wind instruments, timpani, percussion and strings is one of his finest works: an intriguing amalgam of spiky Stravinskyian astringency, graceful neo-classicism, jazz-inflected rhythms and poignant lyricism. All seven soloists from the Sydney Symphony's wind and brass sections sparkled during their various moments in the spotlight. They realised the intricate virtuosic figurations and long-breathed melodies with consummate assurance. The work's emotional heart is the second movement where the dirge-like string backing and supple solo lines are interwoven into a haunting soundscape of strange, unearthly beauty. Although Martin requested an "imperturbably even tempo" for most of this movement, Dutoit's clever use of discreetly applied accelerando and ritardando leading into the climax actually heightened its impact and power. However, Dutoit seemed to apply Martin's tempo directive to the opening movement of Mozart's Symphony No 29. The consequent lack of contrast made the music sound more languid than the allegro moderato marking deserved. This criticism aside, one's response to Dutoit's interpretation largely depended on one's stylistic preferences. Considered on its own terms, this polished account was the epitome of elegance. Concert repeated tonight and tomorrow night. Tickets: $35-$145. Bookings: (02) 8215 4600 or online.