Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Firebird concert was a well-programmed colourfest, peaking with an electrifying Stravinsky ballet suite. Shiyeon Sung's baton was as incisive as a scalpel, from the stealthiest of introductions through to those breathtaking showpieces for the two main dancers, separated by chamber music finesse for the princesses.
What acoup it was to have Katy Woolley, principal horn with Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra, launch a thrilling finale.
First off, Salina Fisher's 2018 Tupaia illuminated the world of the Tahitian navigator with the sonic seasonings of an expert contemporary colourist. Dark Pacific waters rose in a beautifully gradated crescendo until release came in the lyrical dialogue of Alexandria Hoffman's alto flute and Robert Ashworth's viola, following a starburst of percussion.
Composer Salina Fisher taking a bow. Photo / Adrian Malloch
Lili Boulanger's D'un matin de printemps and D'un soir triste worked well in tandem; the piquant dance of the first offset by the darker intimations of the second, dictated on the composer's deathbed, aged just 24.
Scottish pianist Steven Osborne, in town in 2013 to play Manuel de Fallas' Nights in the Gardens of Spain, told me it was "a funny mixture of the very, very Spanish with French gloss over the top of it".
It was not so much so tonight, with Spanish pianist Javier Perianes. Deeply immersed in the work, he set off with his back to us, soaking in Falla's exotic, shimmering world, before turning around to add his own impeccably chiselled lines.
Pianist Javier Perianes. Photo / Adrian Malloch
This was no picture-postcard music. Excitement was sometimes visceral, as when soloist and orchestra might have been exchanging punches in flamenco time. While Sung uncovered the poetry in this gorgeously hued score, brewing up some spine-tingling climaxes, Perianes played with subtlety and precision, catching ears (and eyes, if you could see the keyboard) with his flamboyant glissandi.
Six years ago, in his Auckland Museum recital, Perianes chose Falla's Ritual Fire Dance as his encore. Revisiting it tonight, flames flickered as furiously as ever.
