Buoyed by marimba, this was an inexhaustible spring of bubbling busyness, music that regenerates itself from within, like the best of Bach or Poulenc, allowing Ashworth welcome opportunities to interact with orchestral colleagues.
The slow movement might be alarmingly conservative for some tastes but Ritchie's sure melodic craft paid dividends as Ashworth unfurled impressive spans of inevitable lyricism. As an encore, the soloist found another free spirit in cellist Louise McKay, to charm us with a bluesy take on Paul Desmond's Take Five.
Talking free spirits, was there ever a composer more deserving of this description than Antonin Dvorak? After an interval, Dvorak's life-affirming G major Symphony offered indisputable proof.
Bellincampi revelled in every Bohemian vista, from twittering bird calls to the rustic jubilation of its final pages, imbuing the lilt of its Allegretto grazioso with the sweep of Puccini.
Classical review
What: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra — Free Spirit
Where: Auckland Town Hall
