William Dart: Auckland Philharmonia’s Passion and Mystery

NZ Herald

18 Feb, 2024 04:00 PM2 mins to read

Auckland Philharmonia’s Passion & Mystery concert featuring German cellist Julian Steckel and conductor, Giordano Bellincampi.

Opinion

OPINION

Just how did Auckland Philharmonia’s Passion & Mystery concert live up to its title?

There was certainly passion aplenty in Giordano Bellincampi’s bracing Pathetique Symphony.

Tchaikovsky’s first movement was magnificently landscaped, from dark, low murmuring to the virtuosic firepower of its central development. With every reappearance of its “big theme”, each time in new colours, one could only submit to the surge.

It was the same with the balletic simplicity of the second movement’s waltz in five time, and the absolute storm brewed up in the scherzo, so shattering that applause covered the opening bars of the finale.

This heart-rending Adagio lamentoso was far from the emotional wallow some may have expected. Bellincampi’s brisk tempi injected it with a new urgency for our increasingly brutal times. If thoughts of the Ukrainian conflict coursed through my mind during the first movement’s central battlefield, they returned here with this vision of futility tempered by hope.

German cellist Julian Steckel gave us Haydn with attitude in 2019; tonight he illuminated the stark mysteries of Shostakovich’s second concerto, delivering its expansive Largo with the assurance of a master storyteller.

Despite his unerring brilliance, it was teamwork that lent its own power to proceedings, as Steckel wove his contribution against flute, whooping horns and xylophone, not to mention a particularly fierce bass drum at cadenza time.

Five years ago, Steckel delivered a Bach Prelude as encore; tonight he lingered with poetry and poise over a Sarabande by the same composer.

Gemma Peacocke’s White Horses impressed me mightily at its 2022 AP premiere.

Tonight the immediacy of its impact on the audience was unquestionable, with Peacocke’s almost cinematic evocation of a doomed flight, benefiting from the ingenuity of the young New Zealander’s palette.

There was passion, mystery and sadness here, when one realises that this justifiable revival is the only homegrown orchestral music that the AP, such a proud and stalwart supporter of our culture, will play in the town hall this year.

What: Auckland Philharmonia

Where: Auckland Town Hall

When: Thursday