Manukau Symphony Orchestra is a force to watch on the city's musical scene. Although most of its programming tends towards the middle of the road, conductor Uwe Grodd is not above springing surprises.
The weekend's Ole concert was one: a playlist that, in Grodd's words, celebrated "the incredible
synergy between France and Spain".
Debussy's Petite Suite was pure enchantment from the first bars of En Bateau. The score's four movements were masterfully shaped and characterised by Grodd, catching all their Debussian whimsy.
At the other end of the concert, we were farewelled Spanish-style with a vivacious Interlude and Dance from Falla's La Vida Breve.
And in between, Austrian pianist Christopher Hinterhuber stepped in with not one, but two concertos - the chic and occasionally cheeky Ravel G major and the exotic tableaux of Manuel de Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain.
Ravel set a test for the orchestra but, with Grodd's instinct for sustaining structure and energy, the occasional thin tone in the strings and passing flutters of indecision were not a serious worry. He was not afraid to let climaxes rip in the bluesy Adagio and the final Presto was a tingling delight.
Christopher Hinterhuber, a pianist with a reputation for earlier music than this, brought a classical fastidiousness to Ravel's glittering intricacies; glissandi caressed the Manukau Steinway and he revelled in jazzy rhythms that could have slipped out of Gershwin.
A fiery account of Albeniz's El Puerto was a taster for the Falla still to come.
Nights in the Gardens of Spain offered more orchestral challenges, but the musicians responded vividly to the composer's bold colourings. Rhythms were as alluring as they were infectious and Hinterhuber turned on yet another tour de force.
You have to wait until October to catch the MSO's next concert which, incidentally, features The Emperor and the Nightingale by our own Jenny McLeod. Meanwhile, check out Hinterhuber in recital tomorrow night at the University Music Theatre.
