Auckland Philharmonia’s Beethoven 5was one grand meal of a concert, so popular that the orchestra programmed it on two consecutive evenings.
Music director Giordano Bellincampi ensured that Rossini’s La Cenerentola overture had the tempting tang of the perfect amuse-bouche.
Tumultuous tutti chords punctuated wisps of melody, by turns wryand languid until a bustling allegro vivacetook over, fired by the composer’s signature crescendos along the way.
Mozart’s violin concertos are modest affairs, entrees if you like alongside weightier 19th-century specimens. And tonight’s soloist, Arabella Steinbacher, in interview, had told us to expect lightness, playfulness and lots of joy when she tackled Mozart’s A major concerto.
She delivered all of this with impeccable Mozartian phrasing and nuance. The orchestra responded in kind, with the maestro Bellincampi visibly prompting the subtlest of shading.
The collegial blend between soloist and strings in the second movement was particularly appreciated, as well as a zesty “Turkish” finale, generously peppered with Steinbacher’s delightful cadenzas.
Violinist Arabella Steinbacher brought Mozart's playful concerto to life with the orchestra. Photo / Sav Schulman
An encore of Fritz Kreisler’s Recitativo and Scherzo-Caprice travelled from luscious double-stopping and feathery tremolo to the sprightliest of dances, graced by Steinbacher’s spirited triple-stopping.
Four years ago, I reviewed this orchestra and conductor playing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, a work ignobly described in the current Metro magazine as the composer’s “biggest banger”.
Those drawn to this concert through its inclusion were indeed treated to a substantial and memorable main course.
Nothing was held back, from the crushing urgency of its opening movement to the primal shout of its finale, one of the greatest salutes to C major in the history of music.
A considered and musicianly performance such as this inevitably brings unexpected revelations.
On the night, my ear was caught by the magical transition into the work’s blazing finale, reminding me why Schumann astutely praised it as having the same power as the great phenomena of nature that fill us with fear and admiration, no matter how frequently we may experience them.
