Bach Musica NZ marketed this early evening concert as a Mozart Feast and a generous repast it was.
Delvan Lin, 17, brought an individual voice to the composer's D minor Piano Concerto.
Rita Paczian ushered him in with a solid orchestral springboard; Lin's take on the opening Allegro was thoughtful, searching out moments of reflection, even in the sometimes vertiginous wilds of its Beethoven cadenza.
The central Romanze saw one of Mozart's loveliest melodies shared effortlessly between soloist and orchestra, its uncluttered lyricism the calm before a storming Allegro assai that positively zoomed its way to the bright daylight of D major.
Earlier this year, Lang Lang wowed a packed Civic with a clap-along Rondo alla Turca. Was Lin's encore, a brilliant and gargantuan transcription of this piece, having a sly dig at that musical circus?
Mozart's C minor Mass K 427 may be frustratingly incomplete, but it is still a monumental score.
Paczian stressed the ceremonial in an imposing Kyrie eleison, her choristers navigating perilous chromatic straits with songfaring skill.
Emma Fraser, Anna Leese, Bonaventure Allan-Moetaua and Jonathan Eyers were a smooth quartet in the Benedictus and Leese sang well in the mezzo arias.
Fraser enjoyed the very operatic indulgences of her Et incarnates est, blending nicely with three expert woodwind soloists, especially in an exquisite cadenza.
What: Bach Musica NZ
Where: Auckland Town Hall
When: Sunday