Last September, the NZSO National Youth Orchestra spread out to the far reaches of the town hall stage for Rachmaninov's Second Symphony. On Saturday, just 55 players presented a programme that, if modest in terms of numbers, set up all the right challenges for its aspiring professional musicians.
Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture is a paean to the effervescence of youth and conductor Tecwyn Evans kept it bright and breezy, even if the woodwind and horns did not always live up to the promise of their opening four chords. Nevertheless, the piece had drive and gusto, with the violins making the lyrical most of their wistful signing-off.
The second half of the concert had its own overture, Gluck's Iphigenie en Aulide, dressed up in ponderous orchestral garb by Wagner; a creaky score, delivered with a nice sense of mock seriousness.
The soloist in Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto was Santiago Canon Valencia, whose talent and artistry earned him top honours in the 2010 Beijing Cello Festival.
There was much to savour in Valencia's playing, particularly in his sweet astringency in the slow movement.
