A powerhouse Soviet symphony may have provided the title for Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Prokofiev 5 concert, but the evening set off to the strains of English elegy.
The APO string section immersed itself in the Victorian charm of Elgar's Serenade, elegantly paced and phrased by conductor Johannes Fritzsch. Later, Prokofiev's great lumbering Andante took its time to ignite, and one's heart reached out to the violins, in energetic pizzicato, doomed to be swamped in this thrilling sonic juggernaut.
The momentum of the symphony's scherzo, with its darting, iridescent lines, was unstoppable; after the slow movement's stretches of unbridled lushness, a spirited Allegro giocoso made a spectacular finale for the evening.
Six years ago, Lyell Cresswell's extremely compact first piano concerto dealt out visceral emotions, with an angry funeral march and double adagios; here, his Piano Concerto No. 2 explored style play across the centuries.
Cresswell's signature mood shifts were brilliantly achieved in the first movement, with Bach chorales pitted against temple block-laden toccatas, fired by Michael Houstoun's immaculate piano playing.
