KEY POINTS:
Auckland audiences have few reasons to complain about concert life this year. Apart from a Hesperion XXI evening that was a little like a Womad wannabe, Chamber Music New Zealand delivered trump after trump, with the Eggner Trio and Takacs Quartet proudly presenting John Psathas alongside classics from the older countries.
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra atoned for the tiresome tromboning of Christian Lindberg with Macedonian uber-pianist Simon Trpceski; and, last month's searing Stravinsky and Strauss made one regret that Pietari Inkinen's 2009 cycle of Sibelius symphonies is not playing in Auckland.
Even bari-hunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes did not draw a full house for the orchestra and there were too many empty seats for some of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's finest programmes, including a gem of a concert with Kolja Blacher.
APO stars included Lithuanian pianist Muza Rubackyte and Canadian violinist James Ehnes but, alas, they came with safe Chopin and Tchaikovsky concertos.
Nevertheless, the orchestra scored an unexpected coup presenting Grieg's Peer Gynt with Paolo Rotondo playing Peer as cheeky chappie.
On the local front, the APO continued its commitment to the symphony and beyond. In May, Gareth Farr's Ex Stasis was a symphonic song-cycle which charted colonial guilt and redemption; three months later, Ross Harris' Third Symphony was a virtual Eroica in terms of its scale and symphonic ingenuity.
And let us not forget April's Salome presided over by the estimable Margaret Medlyn; little surprise that conductor Eckehard Stier is now at the orchestra's helm next year.
On the operatic side, Hansel and Gretel's gingerbread house romped through the country, only slightly dulled by its bijou orchestra. An inspired Jenufa finally gave us the Janacek that it seems not enough people were pining for.
Opera Factory's modest but gripping production of Menotti's The Consul also deserved more response from punters.
While Kiwi composers have not fared well in the opera house (even if NBR New Zealand Opera's chairman Aidan Lang told me the company had something in the pipeline from a New Zealand-based composer on a New Zealand subject) there have been compensations.
Eve de Castro-Robinson's Chaos of Delight IV was an elegant slice of eco-whimsy while Alexandra Hall's cool and hip part/s stood out in 175 East's October concert. Auckland Chamber Orchestra's tributes to John Rimmer and John Psathas were major contributions to the concert year.
But when will we see our younger composers given the luxury of the large audience they deserve? Samuel Holloway, Chris Gendall and Chris Watson are just three who have made their mark in various Composer Workshops, have won international awards and need to be heard on our concert stages. Their scores need to be presented publicly within the context and tradition they represent.
Increasingly we are told our music is not relevant, yet the Western concert tradition embraces a heritage and discipline that is a veritable beacon of salvation in our increasingly dumbed-down world.
The faith and training of our musicians keep Bach and Beethoven alive and, given the chance, these players want to bring you the sounds of today.
We the audience can play our part in restoring a much-needed balance. Perhaps you have tucked those concert brochures away until the new year?
If so, why not pull them out before Christmas takes its toll on your budget and put your dollars towards making 2009 the year in which the tide turns?
