OPINION
The heady delights of Auckland Philharmonia’s Joie de Vivre might well have been a sonic translation of the concert’s title. And French conductor Samy Rachid was just the man to deliver two hours of life-affirming joyousness and stylish elegance in an evening devoted to French and French-inspired music.
Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin was a spirited welcome, spinning us into a delicious whirl with its mesmerising prelude.
Before Ravel was farewelled with a whipcrack of a finale, there was poignancy and poise in the central movements, especially in a gently sighing minuet.
Rachid would sign off the programme spectacularly with Poulenc’s The Sinfonietta, full of scampish good humour, through to another runaway finale.