Review: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Discover New Zealand Music

Conductor Marc Taddei swept the orchestra through the brilliantly orchestrated score by Stephen Clothier. Photo / Supplied

There was a buzz and a bustle in the Town Hall foyer as punters collected tickets for Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Happy Hour concert, Discover New Zealand Music.

The evening set off by allowing the music to speak for itself. Conductor Marc Taddei swept the orchestra through the brilliantly orchestrated score that won Stephen Clothier last year's secondary composers' competition.

Clothier's title was a weighty one, Polyptych: Ascent of the Blessed, but MC Tom McLeod caught its composer with a roving mike and we were given some background. We were also left marvelling at a teenager having mastered the intricacies of orchestration when many his age would be chuffed to nail the riff of Smoke on the Water.

The first concerto of the evening was John Psathas' Djinn, a showcase for Portuguese percussionist Pedro Carneiro. Last month, on the eve of Djinn's Wellington premiere, Psathas playfully expressed the hope that it might be performed thousands of times, noting that, if this happened, its first performance would still hold a special place in his heart.

This second airing proved just as exhilarating. Carneiro in action at the marimba, with mallets flying, was a mesmerising sight, whether laying down a lulling backdrop to the opening Pandora, or playing musical cat-and-mouse with the orchestra in the ensuing Labyrinth.

Psathas' inspirations range from Greek legend to homegrown small-screen nostalgia, nicely timed for the current celebration of 50 years of television in this country. And, yes, one could imagine giants, galactic goings-on and magic carpet rides in the Finale, all caught with the composer's customary ingenuity, even to the point of having Japanese singing bowls working their magic over sliding, trilling strings.

The second concerto spot was taken by John Wells' Organ Concerto, which pitted the magnificent Town Hall instrument against a fearless APO.

Wells admitted to us that he was a conservative composer and I do have a certain immunity to the charm of Pokarekare ana strained through the re-harmonising machine in the concerto's second movement.

Yet, on this occasion, when organ and orchestra joined forces and aimed at the spectacular, it struck just the right celebratory note.