A raucous evocation of pagan savagery comes with youthful flaws MUSIC Australian Youth Orchestra. Violin: Joshua Bell. Didgeridoo: William Barton. Conductor: Christoph Eschenbach. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. August 3. IT is almost inconceivable to think that Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is 100 years old this year. The 20th-century's seminal classical music masterpiece still sounds radical and contemporary. It is also fiendishly difficult to perform. For the most part, conductor Christoph Eschenbach and the Australian Youth Orchestra surmounted the work's myriad challenges. Their energetic, exciting interpretation was a fearsome and raucous evocation of pagan savagery. Incessant ostinato chords and fortissimo tutti climaxes exploded with almost unbearable force. A violent and spectacularly powerful Dance of the Earth brought the Rite's first part to a thrilling conclusion. The AYO also succeeded in capturing Stravinsky's unique sound-world. The woodwind section realised its distinctive combination of pungent harmonies and eerie sotto voce figures and the strings impressed with their incisive attack. Unfortunately, the performance was undermined by several flaws. Immediate impact was preferred to cumulative effect, which periodically diluted the work's tension. In fast sections, the orchestra occasionally struggled to sustain clarity of articulation. Some fortissimo climaxes veered dangerously close to being an undifferentiated wall of sound. Primal-inspired music of an entirely different style opened the concert. Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe's Earth Cry is influenced by both indigenous Australian music and the Australian landscape. Joined by didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton, Eschenbach and the orchestra's crystalline textures, rhythmic acuity and dark-hued tone colours depicted the work's dual character of brooding menace and anguished rage. Throughout, Barton's extraordinary didgeridoo sounds - sometimes whirring and screeching, sometimes subtly droning - were masterfully integrated into the orchestral palette. Sandwiched between these two primordially influenced works was Tchaikovsky's romantic violin concerto. Soloist Joshua Bell lived up to his reputation as one of the world's greatest violinists. Like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Bell seems incapable of making an ugly sound. In particular, I've never heard passages of sustained high harmonics played better. Sustaining a rich, sweet and evenly produced tone and employing strong vibrato, Bell captured the concerto's impassioned yet warmly affectionate character. His long-breathed phrasing and veiled sonorities created exquisite moments of dreamy reflection. Brilliantly executed sequences of trills, double-stops and fast passage-work displayed his flamboyance and technical prowess. Equally impressive was Bell's desire to create a fresh interpretation of this well-known work. His shrewd rubato and strong dynamic and tempo contrasts helped him achieve just that. His approach was matched by conductor and orchestra. Fast tempos and bold contrasts imbued Tchaikovsky's masterpiece with the same vigour and vibrancy that they later brought to The Rite of Spring.