"There's never a problem with span in Ross' music. The overall integrity is immediate and this is hugely beneficial for listeners finding their way through the work."
Walker admires the way Harris "pits the orchestra against the soloist in the grand tradition of the best concertos. The soloist is not left on his own to dazzle us with virtuosity, but plays in dialogue with the other musicians."
Soloist Ilya Gringolts made the same point a few days earlier. The Russian was looking forward to "working with a living composer and going through the whole process of discovery that eventually gives birth to a piece of music".
Gringolts had warmed to the free-flowing nature of the writing. "It's been composed in a very organic way. It's sincere and you can feel a direct link between composer and audience. That's a difficult thing to establish and not every composer manages it."
On previous visits, Walker has conducted memorable Elgar (including the Violin Concerto with James Ehnes) and introduced many of us to the contemporary British composer, Thomas Ades. He is also keen on the music of John Adams. "He started as part of the Minimalist movement but developed in different ways."
Walker has done a lot of the American's music, and his Short Ride should be a heart-stopping roller-coaster adventure.
He vividly remembers his experiences with Adams' 9/11 tribute, On The Transmigration of Souls. "A frightening piece to conduct," is his first assessment. Then he muses on the score's terrifying climax - "the cataclysmic sound of the towers collapsing, with incredible metallic clang and clash, creating this awful feeling of bending and crashing down".
Doubtlessly, The Planets will work its expected magic Thursday week. "It's an extraordinary piece, even if its best music is less often heard. Back in 1918, it came completely out of the left field. It was unlike anything else that had been written, certainly by Elgar or Vaughan Williams."
In 1926, Holst's fellow composer Joseph Holbrooke wrote that he hoped "The Planets will survive this unhealthy popularity". Walker sees "a real problem with writing a piece as unbelievably successful as The Planets because it can destroy your career".
Nevertheless, the legacy of Holst's music is inescapable. "When we think of John Williams and all those floating parallel triads that are so much part of science fiction movie scores, Holst came up with the idea first."
What: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
Where and when: Auckland Town Hall, February 19 at 8pm
