Auckland Philharmonia at the Aotea Centre

Reviewed by WILLIAM DART

Berlioz's Roman Carnival is a rousing opener for any concert and it proved dazzlingly so for the Auckland Philharmonia's All Roads Lead To Rome.

Despite the ungiving Aotea acoustics, conductor Christopher Wilkins delivered it with zest, dancing woodwind and sleek textures not to mention a lusciously phrased cor anglais solo by Madeline Sakovsky.

The same rhythmic alertness that propelled the Berlioz ensured the success of Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony. There may have been a rough edge to the first violins and some wayward horn notes in the third movement, but the spirit was perfect. There was no trudge in the Pilgrims' March, the Minuet was just the right degree of suave and the final Saltarello positively possessed.

After interval, Italian pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi was a dashing soloist in Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. As a score, this has its tawdry moments as in the 10th variation when the brass interrupt the Dies Irae with what sounds to my ears like the launch of a Broadway number but the musicians embraced them and they worked.

There was a rare chemistry here, especially in the chamber-music subtleties of the 16th variation. A few minutes later, in the famous 18th, the violins had their chance to soar and they took it.

By way of an encore, Pompa-Baldi offered a scampish 90 seconds of a Moszkowski Etude, which whirred away to the rapt audience.

After this, the picture-postcard music of Respighi's The Pines of Rome was rendered in full cinemascope. From those opening bars that inspired a thousand travelogue scores to the imposing march along the Appian Way, Wilkins and his players took us to the Eternal City flying first class. And, when it came to showing us the pines by moonlight, Gordon Richards' clarinet caught them in incandescent poetry.

The Finale, making bold use of organ as well as brass players fanfaring down from the circle, offered the sort of spectacle that would have had Roman Emperors cheerfully forgo their gladiatorial displays. It added an appropriately festive flourish for a concert presented under the banner of AK03 and, I suspect, which benefited in audience numbers from the association.