Not every conductor delivers a pre-concert talk, but Perry So did just that, with unflappable charm, before the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's Chinese New Year concert.
He spoke fervently on Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and, in performance, confirmed its status as a ground-breaking score that, among other things, inspired Bruckner's "cathedrals of sound".
The first movement caught the ebb and flow of the picturesque outdoors. The pace was sprightly; every detail registering with early-morning clarity.
In the second movement, the mood shifted to graceful contemplation; the dance of the third was all rollicking good humour, even if the occasional horn smudges went beyond the bounds of rustic scene-setting.
Beethoven's celebrated storm was unleashed in a furious outburst that seemed to emanate directly from the possessed young conductor.
