Review: NZ Music for Woodwind at University Music Theatre

Bassoonist Ben Hoadley is a man with a mission - to explore and add to the catalogue of woodwind music written by New Zealand composers.

On Wednesday night, heading an ensemble of six musicians, he proved that his faith is well placed.

As soloist, Hoadley effortlessly sustained the generous span of John Rimmer's 1993 Southern Invention, doing full justice to the almost Brahmsian textures of the opening with sensitive pianism from Flora Lee.

It was good to hear flautist Adrianna Lis revisit Eve de Castro-Robinson's Knife Apple Sheer Brush, snapshots of Len Lye which explore the mystical links between word and sound.

Yet another soloist, Anna McGregor, had opened the evening with Gillian Whitehead's recent Mata-au, an absorbing sonic canvas, with solo clarinet dispensing everything from microtonal inflections to free-flying birdcalls. McGregor is a hypnotic performer and it was fascinating to watch and listen to her teasing multiphonics into life.

John Elmsly's short trio, Meditation, pastoral in tone, with quirky hymn-like phrases balanced Leonie Holmes' is there anybody in there? Holmes made much of Messiaen-like chords underpinning willowy lines, especially effective with flute, bassoon and piano deliriously intertwining.

Two of Hoadley's own compositions, both titled Manaia, had the elegant Luca Manghi duetting first with fellow flautist Lis, then with oboist Joy Liu. Dramatic sweeps of paired flutes in the first contrasted with a more feisty oboe and flute confrontations in the second. Hoadley's keen sense of woodwind idioms also allowed for clear-voiced echoes of Lilburn and Copland in the poco meno mosso section of Manaia II.

The final Eight Pieces for Wind Quartet by young composer Alex Taylor, proved rather cooler in its emotions and perhaps a mite severe in its musical idiom.

Nevertheless, memorable moments included jabbing touches of humour in the fifth piece, a buoyant slow trill effect ending the sixth, and the wild, leapfrogging lines of the last.

One hopes that the generous-sized audience and enthusiastic reception the performances received will encourage the group to undertake more of such ventures.