New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s La Mer concert - William Dart review

The NZ Symphony Orchestra at the Auckland Town Hall with Dima Slobodeniouk conductor and Augustin Hadelich soloist.

OPINION

Nielsen’s Helios Overture was an inspired launch for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s La Mer concert. The first of three marine-inspired offerings, its eight minutes evocatively traced the sun’s daily journey, arising from and falling back into the Aegean Sea.

From its opening mesh of hushed basses and staggered horns, Dima Slobodeniouk revealed himself to be a maestro with a meticulous ear for detail, and the ability to reconcile moments of stalwart grandeur with the subtlest of atmospherics.

The Finnish conductor also played a vital role in the concert’s inevitable highlight: Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.

Here, even the most hardened of concert-going hearts must have softened at the charismatic performance of soloist Augustin Hadelich, his first lines delivered with unabashed tenderness, giving no hint of furies soon to be unleashed.

I was forcibly reminded of the balletic impulse in Tchaikovsky’s music, a definite asset on Thursday night, as Hadelich combined delicious whimsy and dazzling virtuosity over ever-shifting orchestral backdrops.

A slow movement of almost unbearable poignancy was followed by a finale that threatened to become a runaway troika sleigh. Little wonder that a passing stranger at interval made comparisons with Jimi Hendrix, although Hadelich’s rousing encore - a bluegrassy breakdown based on the fiddle tune Orange Blossom Special - may have had something to do with his assessment.

After interval, Sibelius’ The Oceanides and Debussy’s La Mer returned us to the sea, showing two composers’ responses to Mediterranean waters.

Slobodeniouk ensured the signature of Sibelius was firmly etched in the first piece’s foreboding timpani rolls and dancing flutes, as well as climactic stirrings. If only two cellphones had not added their unwanted obbligati to proceedings.

The Debussy was treated more lushly, without sacrificing the essential transparency of its wash. We were captivated by the yearning sighs of a cello choir and the heart-stopping shifts between minor and major as the wind and sea pursued their closing dialogue. Perhaps, in the central movement, there was even the illusion of an underwater ballroom, through the evanescent waltzing of the waves.

What: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Where: Auckland Town Hall

When: Thursday, August 29

Reviewer: William Dart.