The Auckland Philharmonia performs Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No 1. Photo / Sav Schulman
The Auckland Philharmonia performs Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No 1. Photo / Sav Schulman
When the Auckland Philharmonia’s principal horn, Gabrielle Pho, launched Weber’s Oberon overture, we were ushered into a world of magic and enchantment, perfectly setting the mood for this Midsummer Night’s Dream concert.
Estonian conductor Olari Elts searched out the very soul of Weber’s quintessentially romantic Adagio before taking the musicianson a rollicking ride in the overture’s Allegro con fuoco.
Estonian conductor Olari Elts leads the Auckland Philharmonia. Photo / Sav Schulman
Sylvia Jiang’s fiery account of Liszt’s Totentanzlast year came to mind when the young New Zealander appeared as tonight’s soloist in Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No 1.
In a score peppered with sardonic quotes, Jiang and trumpeter Huw Dann navigated every musical U-turn with the skill of seasoned rally drivers.
Within a page, she slipped from stealthy counterpoint to the pellucid chime of G minor, while Dann, always at the ready with an ironic fanfare, brought a wistful tenderness to a lento melody in Shostakovich’s signature roving style.
Trumpeter Huw Dann performs Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No 1. Photo / Sav Schulman
The finale is quite simply a glorious if edgy circus. After moving from polka to galop, with Jiang offering a remarkable shot of low-down, funky piano, orchestra and soloists signed off with a triple forte affirmation of C major.
Pianist Sylvia Jiang performs Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No 1. Photo / Sav Schulman
Would that Jiang’s encore, a smooth but unadventurous arrangement of Pōkarekare Ana, have had more such surprises.
After the interval, Brigid Ursula Bisley’s Illumination, her musical response to the decorative and inspirational nature of medieval illuminated manuscripts, presented spellbinding evidence of the New Zealand composer’s deep interest in colour, light and contrasting shadow.
This is music that takes its time, building up inexorably, from the slide of strings and the murmur of bass drum. Bisley’s firm tonal centre allows for the tang of microtones and, in amongst many memorable gestures, the ear is caught by a mysterious low flute trill, dashes of harp and cascades of chattering woodwind and falling strings – an exceptional addition to the orchestral repertoire, beautifully rendered.
Five pieces from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream had given the concert its title and provided a popular finale. After a few bumpy chords, Elts injected Mendelssohn’s overture with the same high energy that brought smiles to faces around me during the final and familiar Wedding March. In between, one was impressed by the exquisite poetry of the Nocturne and an Intermezzo that certainly lived up to its composer’s “appassionato” directive.
