William Dart review: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at the Auckland Town Hall

Violinist Clara-Jumi Kang performing with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at the Auckland Town Hall.

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) hearteningly launched its Beethoven’s Violin concert with the home-grown; an opportunity to enjoy a piece denied us three years ago due to an unexpected lockdown.

Finally casting its considerable spell over a live capacity audience, Leonie Holmes’ For Just a Little Moment... was a gem. In between whispering brass and cascading celeste lay a wealth of incident and sonic hues, from soulful alto flute to the rainbow of colours two percussionists can draw from nine instruments.

In 2023, one hears harbingers of Holmes’ fine piano concerto, premiered in Christchurch just last month, a score that also shows her ability to sustain compelling momentum through rhythmic subtleties.

This and the piece’s lively venturing well caught the feeling of hope lying within impermanence, the theme of the Tessa Stephens poem that inspired it, Cycles.

Clara-Jumi Kang captivated us with the APO last year, playing John Adams’ Scheherazade.2; this time around, her authoritative Beethoven concerto confirmed the acclaim accorded to the violinist’s 2021 recording of his complete sonatas with pianist Sunwook Kim.

Conductor Giordano Bellincampi well knows how to stir up anticipation in a beautifully gradated orchestral introduction, laying the ground for Kang to soar into the ethereal with one of Beethoven’s most iconic melodies.

Conductor Giordano Bellincampi leads the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at the Auckland Town Hall.

If the first movement showed her deftly balancing the architectonic and dramatic — her Kreisler cadenza was breathtaking — the following larghetto effortlessly released its poetry, with Kang in rapturous duet with clarinet and bassoon.

The effervescent sweep of the third movement was followed by the coolest and most elegant of encores — a Bach sarabande that perfectly melded lyricism and the gentlest of dances.

After interval, Bellincampi reminded us of the visceral power of Stravinsky’s Petrushka, with its unstoppable orchestral tsunami subsuming more than one brave little fairground dance. Every emotion, from the most fierce to the most tender, was relayed through the maestro’s expressive hands, resulting in a performance representative of a true virtuoso. Best of all, its poignant yet cheeky closing bars were not sullied by the composer’s alternative triple-forte ending.