Concert Review: NZTrio, Auckland Museum

Left to right: Sarah Watkins (piano), Ashley Brown (cello), and Justine Cormack (violin). Photo / Supplied

NZTrio has returned from ambassadorial duties at the City of London Festival to resume its early evening concert series at Auckland Museum with the customary mix of classic and contemporary.

On Sunday cellist Ashley Brown introduced Brahms' C major Trio as the second stage on the group's journey through the composer's Piano Trios; a celebration to be completed with the F minor Trio in September and, two months later, the F minor Piano Quintet as a bonus.

It is always a pleasure to relax and enjoy the sheer musicianship of this group.

Brown, Justine Cormack and Sarah Watkins understand just what it takes to put the musical jigsaw together; and, with the testing weave of Brahms' opening Allegro, that proved a decided asset.

From the zest-filled variations of the Andante through to a glittering whirl of a Scherzo, this was a performance to savour.

At the other end of the evening Schubert's B flat Trio was delivered with immense spirit and a real feeling for the composer's songfulness, only slightly marred by minor lapses in intonation.

The highlight here was a brilliantly hued Rondo, with cimbalon-like tremolo from the strings and Watkins drawing a real gleam from the Museum's Fazioli.

Jekyll Rat was a new commission from Chris Adams and Brown warned us of political intent afoot - the composer intends the piece as a portrait of a certain unscrupulous and thinly disguised MP.

Adams may be a political animal, but invariably he delivers his critique with irony and style, mostly upbeat with bright, clear textures.

Glassy bitonal piano chords lent an almost gamelan glow and, in the central Sycophant's Dance, Watkins' clustered crashes almost seemed like a tongue-in-cheek admonishment for the frankly tonal goings-on around them.

The other taste of today, from Kenji Bunch, was altogether less memorable. Night Flight, from the American composer's Swing Shift suite, compresses a glimpse of New York nightlife into five minutes. However, not even these players' unsparing virtuosity and energy could validate such assembly-line music.