Sparks fly and melodies soar when Richard Tognetti directs music close to the ACO’s heart. Mendelssohn’s music is pure pleasure. One of the great prodigies, he wrote his sunny Octet at just 16 years of age. It’s one of the most loved pieces of chamber music ever written and a favourite of the ACO. In their hands, its youthful exuberance just about leaps off the stage. Moving from one young genius to another: the ACO presents a new commission from trailblazing young composer Jakub Jankowski in his first work for string orchestra. Hailing from Adelaide, he’s a fresh voice in classical music. Opening the program, Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s pulsating octet Illumine makes a striking contrast with the Mendelssohn. If Mendelssohn is pleasure, then Bach is worship. Bach sought God in his music and became like a god for musicians, a touchstone to which all other music is compared. His music is filled with drama, joy and remarkable discipline. Hearing it, playing it, is an act of worship. That is an altar to which Richard Tognetti will return to again and again. His recordings of Bach’s violin music won three successive ARIA Awards. Live, his interpretation of the great Violin Concerto in A minor is a powerful experience: intimate and electrifying. Like all the best performances, this concert will remind you of why you love music.