Classical review: NZTrio, Whitianga Town Hall

NZTrio is cellist Ashley Brown, pianist Sarah Watkins and violinist Justine Cormack.

Sparks fly as trio relish David Hamilton showpiece at their Whitianga premiere.

NZTrio's latest programme, Surge, made its way to Wellington and Whitianga before receiving a hometown airing last night at Auckland's Q Theatre.

In Whitianga, on the eve of the annual Scallop Festival, the concert drew an enthusiastic muster. Whitianga Town Hall, with its trestle-table bar and netball court markings on the floor, was a mite spartan, but the abounding warmth and intimacy more than compensated.

Chopin's Piano Trio is a curiosity, and the players nailed the Weber-like strut of its busy Allegro con fuoco. The composer's signature nocturnes were still to be written, but the shapely weave of violin and cello in the Adagio sostenuto seemed to hint at these lyrical beauties to come.

The quirky character of Chopin's only ensemble piece was relished; the scherzo was emphatically a spirited landler and the mercurial shifts and flickers of the finale were neatly dispensed.

Saint-Saens' Second Piano Trio re-affirmed just what an elegant and civilised composer this Frenchman was.

Anyone who knows the score could not but marvel at Sarah Watkins' almost demonic drive through its first movement. Later, all three musicians caught the fragile understatement of an Allegretto that sounds like an old-fashioned hesitation waltz, but is in 5/8 time.

There was cheering when cellist Ashley Brown announced that, although we had missed out on the first performance of David Hamilton's The Faraday Cage, tonight was the Whitianga premiere.

Hamilton has fashioned a very satisfying showpiece for the group, exploring different perceptions of the classic electro-protective cage. The borrowed baby grand was occasionally compromised by the composer's percussive demands, but this did not dampen the fire of pizzicato sparks flying against shimmering keyboard mesh.

Strings were cleverly used to propel momentum, while Brown was at his potent best in the soaring lines of the middle section.

Hamilton describes the finale as a minimalist romp, and it is that. Yet you can hear nods to Messiaen, echoes of gamelan and, best of all, a playful tussle between two tonalities that lingers to the final chord.

What: NZTrio
Where: Whitianga Town Hall
When: Friday