The smaller-than-usual orchestra combined precision and glee when the first movement erupted into D major and, later on, the Minuet's Trio was peppered with off-beat sforzandi.
The Mozart Requiem may have made for an almost full house on Thursday night as Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's 2013 Choral Masterpiece, but the concert's inclusion of two Haydn works was very much appreciated.
Canadian conductor Bernard Labadie almost jived on to the podium for one of those early Haydn symphonies
that we hear far too rarely. Forget the work's nickname, "Lamentatione" - this was frisky business, brimming with the energy and chutzpah of the pioneering Haydn.
The smaller-than-usual orchestra combined precision and glee when the first movement erupted into D major and, later on, the Minuet's Trio was peppered with off-beat sforzandi.
The APO revealed, yet again, its programming savvy by following this with the composer's First Cello Concerto - both scores share the same earthy vigour, along with thematic parallels in their slow movements.
Alban Gerhardt was a spirited soloist, sweet as an Austrian dessert wine in the high register, yet not afraid to lash out with a guttural double-stop in the Finale, spinning through passagework that sounded like manic Vivaldi.
