Auckland Chamber Orchestra at the Town Hall

By HEATH LEES

Centred around the theme of Mozart and More, the programme included Mozart's Prague symphony and the often-overlooked B-flat Piano Concerto, K456.

Heading each half were a couple of well-chosen contemporary works, the first an elegiac piece by New Zealand composer Ross Harris, called Music for Jonny.

Perhaps there should have been more players for the big, plangent sounds that rolled slowly on, but the strings did a good job, despite "warm-up" difficulties. It was nice to welcome back cellist Paul Mitchell, who graced momentary solo phrases with a superb tone and counterpointed leader Monica Curro's violin perfectly.

Curro reappeared as soloist, this time ably partnered by violinist Simeon Broom in the second modern piece, by Schnittke, called Moz-Art a la Haydn. This was an uninhibited spoof on the two classical composers embedded in the title, but like Stravinsky, Schnittke drew all the borrowings into his own unmistakable sound and theatrical domain, with innumerable jokes that were nicely thrown out by the players and delightedly caught by the audience.

The three-movement Prague symphony that finished the programme was lumpy, probably because the younger, less seasoned players were beginning to tire, but far and away the most successful piece was the earlier K456 concerto - one of Mozart's happiest - with soloist Katherine Austin in great form, wrapping up every note with elegant high spirits, and positively lighting up the music.

Thanks to her natural understanding of Mozart's light and shade, his sudden turns into unexpected keys and his unashamedly operatic verve, she ignited the musicians behind her into a crackling performance that may not always have been perfectly controlled, but would have impressed Mozart himself with its gleeful abandon.