Initially I had misgivings at the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra rounding off 2018 with two Beethoven symphonies when all nine will be rolled out for next year's Beethoven Festival.
However, a generously filled town hall and standing ovations confirmed that Beethoven remains boffo box office and the absolute mastery of conductor Edo de Waart was an unarguable bonus.
The pairing of the first and last symphonies placed a young composer bursting from the shadows of Haydn alongside the archetypal romantic hero, isolated in deafness, rending the world asunder.
The poised Adagio molto of the First Symphony had de Waart weighing every chord and nuance with an apothecary's precision, just as he adroitly balanced the second movement's mix of counterpoint and country dance.
Schumann caught the mysteries of Beethoven's final symphony with an image of a blind man, standing before Strasbourg Cathedral, able to hear its bells but unable to find its entrance.
