Feng Ning was a star from the beginning. In Queenstown, his Mozart made you forget he had piano and not orchestra behind him; his unaccompanied Bach was a ripple of perfection.
A week later, last Saturday, the 24-year-old Chinese violinist carried off first prize in the Michael Hill International Violin
Competition with a performance of Brahms' Concerto that could have stood proudly in any concert hall. Rarely does its monumental first movement allow for such intimate lyricism, lightened with the same rhythmic flexibility that had marked Ning's Arensky Trio in Thursday's semifinals.
Ning proved himself a showman, boldly confronting his audience, although occasionally he turned to podium or orchestra to cement a moment of special communion with his colleagues.
The Finale, too often a showy "Hungarian" turn, had grace and humour; indeed this was the Allegro giocoso that Brahms asks for. Throughout, it was difficult to believe that the Auckland Philharmonia and conductor Christopher Wilkins had not been playing with him for years.
Third place went to 20-year-old Bartosz Woroch, with an intensely poetic Sibelius Concerto while 24-year-old Yvonne Lam came runner-up. The American's Shostakovich First Concerto also showed a rare partnership with the orchestra, and the Russian composer's bittersweet melodies sang with the subtlest of nuancing.
Michael Hill's foresight and faith have been rewarded with the competition now having international status. Prime Minister Helen Clark made reference to this and offered a timely caution: Live performance can never guarantee perfection - it's that human element, that precariousness, that gives it the edge and emotional impact that communicate to audiences.
Clark also praised the competition's support of the local, even if, once again, the opportunity of playing David Farquhar's earth, air, water to the packed Town Hall audience was not taken.
"It's very important to find places in our repertoire and programmes for the works of our own composers," Clark stressed, "works which reflect and interpret aspects of our lives."
Maybe, one day, we might hear one of these talented violinists tackle a New Zealand concerto?
