The title of Thursday night’s Auckland Philharmonia concert, Ehnes & Bellincampi, gave away its inevitable highlight — Canadian violinist James Ehnes and AP’s music director Giordano Bellincampi pairing up for a spellbinding Brahms Violin Concerto.
Bellincampi’s carefully measured pacing and finessed palette made Ehnes’ imposing entrance all the more so, the radiance of his eloquent lines set against a truly Brahmsian orchestral glow.
Flanked in the programme by the sturdier music of Schumann and Mendelssohn, Brahms registered as the romantic spirit in full flight. Ehnes and the orchestra luxuriated in their soaring lines and subtle interplay, particularly with a recurring theme suggesting the most languorous of Viennese waltzes.
The Canadian’s deep love of the work came across in his unerring sense of its structure; even the fearsome Joachim cadenza registered, more than ever, as an integral development of Brahms’ musical argument.
Bede Hanley’s expressive oboe, set in a matchless woodwind bower, launched the second movement, effortlessly extended by Ehnes to new and heart-stopping lyrical heights. A dashing finale positively bristled with Hungarian gusto.
