Russian conductor Alexander Lazarev has made his mark with the NZSO on previous visits, so this return tour will have been keenly anticipated.
Perhaps the Russian Fire title of the concert stems from the conductor rather than the music. There was an abundance of fiery gesture and a never flagging energy in his brilliant direction as he coaxed the very best from the players, and extended this in his acknowledgement to the audience at the end, signifying how much he appreciated the standard of performance.
Shostakovich's Symphony No15 in A is like none other in the way it is constructed. Yet it is reminiscent of much of his other music with all its quirky, fantasy elements that make it so individual from the juxtaposition of the "toy shop" representation of the first and last movements with the predominance of percussion, the William Tell quotes and those from his own music, and then the brooding seriousness of the second movement with its sombre cello solo. The music ranged from the distilled sound of a very few or a solo instrument, contrasted with outbursts of cacophonous sound, all providing wonderful opportunities to see and hear the superb individual playing expected from the NZSO.
Despite the concert title, the piano concerto was not by a Russian, but arch romantic Robert Schumann's lone Piano Concerto in A minor Opus 54. Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov certainly brought out all the poetry inherent in the music and made it all look so easy as he relaxed and rested his hands on the piano when not actually playing. More than many other piano concertos, this one depends very much on the integration of the solo and the orchestral parts. This was a fascinating part of the performance, particularly in combination with the cellos in the Intermezzo. But there was plenty of brilliant, extrovert playing as well, in virtuosic passages of the Allegro affettuoso first movement, and in the irrepressible elan of the Allegro Vivace Finale.
The early Rachmaninov Caprice Bohemian Op 12 which opened the concert, was certainly capricious in the variety of material used at the start, even if the ideas were not developed very far - not quite the Rachmaninov of his later works. Much fine solo playing here however, and plenty of raw, gypsy energy, leading to a brilliant climax.
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
