It would be difficult to imagine a more spritzig launch for a new season than Prokofiev's Classical Symphony which opened the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Thursday programme.
Under the baton of Eckehard Stier, Prokofiev's score was a sparkler.
The German conductor injected an intriguing tongue-in-cheek pomposity into its first
movement and the unexpected harmonic deviations in the Gavotte seemed as much a nod to Richard Strauss as Haydn; the Finale was a reel to remember, with the woodwind sparking on all plugs.
The only problem - and it was a serious one - lay with the first violins. While Prokofiev is unsparing with his demands, particularly in the upper register, there can be no excuse for so much ragged intonation.
Raphael Wallfisch emanated amiability in Saint-Saens' First Cello Concerto. For the English soloist, this performance was obviously very much a team effort, casting significant glances throughout the work at both conductor and concert master.
The concerto can be discreet in its passions, but Wallfisch heightened them with bold accents and unexpected glissandi. Dialogue between soloist and orchestra was the order of the evening, with Wallfisch increasing fervour in the wake of Saint-Saens's often brusque orchestral interjections.
If the minuet seemed a little stern, Wallfisch's outpouring was all the sweeter alongside it. Also finely gauged were the emotional shifts of the final sections until all ended in a blaze of A major.
When it was time for an encore, the expected Bach Sonata movement was put aside in favour of a Tchaikovsky Nocturne for cello and orchestra. And lingeringly beautiful it was, with the Russian composer's generous lyricism showcasing the orchestral players to advantage.
Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony proved to be an eventful hour in the country, the only cloud in the sky, apart from the expected storm of the fourth movement, being some lacklustre violin work.
Stier moulded the first movement immaculately, phrase by phrase, while the so-described merrymaking of the scherzo almost pre-empted the lightning to come in the storm.
The final pages, travelling from a whisper to a full fortissimo in a little over a minute, were a memorable example of the conductor's art.
