Defiance is a word very much in tune with the political climate of our times.
As the title of Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's most recent concert, it made obvious connections with Shostakovich's grimly stoic Tenth Symphony but there was insurgency from the very start.
Messiaen was 22 when he wrote Les Offrandes Oubliees and the zeal of rebellious youth bursts from its wild and furious depiction of Sin. Conductor Andrew Gourlay caught it beautifully, framing a whirlwind of savagery within the beatific calm of superb string playing.
Later, composer Shostakovich's bitter repudiation of former USSR dictator Stalin came with a ferocious second movement that lacerated with the raw bluntness of a newsreel. Elsewhere, unexpected eruptions were equally unsettling, as when a strident fairground waltz emerged from the unswerving triple-time tread.
James Fry's soulful clarinet was the first of many characterful woodwind solos, carefully cued by Gourlay, symbolizing - perhaps - individuals caught in the Stalinist crunching machine.
