On Thursday night Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra undertook what is perhaps its most courageous programme for some years — challenging us not with the demands of the contemporary, but with rarely performed music from the
William Dart review: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra with Smetana's Ma Vlast
It was certainly the perfect introduction to a memorable Vltava, highlighting Smetana's many orchestral subtleties.
The third poem, Sarko, a tale of a vengeful warrior maiden, dispensed fire and fury with the sort of illustrative writing that would have assured Smetana of a Hollywood career in the next century. And, in amongst all the fire and fury, clarinettist Jonathan Cohen dispensed the purest poetry.
From Bohemia's Woods and Forests is the most popular poem after Vltava, and Judd almost choregraphed its contrasts, from its mesmerising first section to powerful muted strings in muscular counterpoint. The occasional bursts of polka merriment were handled with knife-edge precision.
The two final poems somehow merge, both in their overt patriotism and in their musical content. The atmospheric launch of the closing Blanik particularly impressed, and the players made the most of Smetana's many folksy excursions, reminding us that this was the man who composed The Bartered Bride.
What: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
Where: Auckland Town Hall
When: Thursday