Ms Hannigan was called upon to push the words out of the dreamy haze of the music into a position of greater clarity, the notes that emerged were forceful and pure; but it was her ability to let the words rise and fall above the sonic water-line of the orchestra that created the impression of a fated narrator flickering in and out of existence.

No es solo la extraordinaria singularidad de sus ejecuciones, sino la alquimia de verse uno compenetrado con la música que ella ama y de ser testigo de una gran artista que profesa una enorme libertad interior; que transmite sus más íntimos sentimientos y ansiedades, y con la que se experimenta un inefable momento de gracia y religiosidad.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard second appearance at this year’s Musikfest may have seemed somewhat more conventional on paper, pairing Beethoven’s universally admired 'Hammerklavier' sonata with Helmut Lachenmann’s less well-known but equally fascinating 'Serynade'. If the two pieces had little in the way of superficial similarities, they were united by a shared desire on the part of their respective composers to explore the sonic potential of the keyboard instrument.

An argument could be made for Die Frau being one of the great headphone operas: Strauss had such a skill for conjuring supernatural flourishes while guiding us through the emotional journeys of the characters that, with a good recording and a decent stereo, the opera can come to life far more vividly in the imagination than when bound to the stage. Vladimir Jurowski’s understanding of how the story can play out in the mind was crucial to the concert performance over which he presided as part of this year’s Musikfest

It is to Mr Petrenko’s credit that his Beethoven sounded nothing like any of his predecessors; there was none of Furtwängler’s encompassing grandeur, nor Karajan’s opulent warmth. The sound was perhaps closest to Abbado’s in its leanness and taut agility, but there was a restlessness and rhythmic motivation that belonged to Mr Petrenko alone