Auckland Philharmonia at the Aotea Centre

By HEATH LEES

AOTEA CENTRE, Auckland - Choosing two excerpts from operas by Richard Strauss was a good idea, but having them in the Aotea Centre was not, since the large ambience robbed the orchestra of the bloom and subtlety of tempo it would no doubt have found had it been playing in the Town Hall.

Similarly, soprano soloist Patricia Wright had to try hard to make herself heard over Strauss' gorgeously thick textures, and her voice lost focus and body at times.

The first excerpt was from Capriccio, framed at either end by Nicola Averill's excellently judged horn solos, leading the way to the more ecstatic (and much more difficult) aria from Die Aegyptische Helena. After taking extended punishment in the topmost regions of her voice, Wright opted for an extra Strauss item, his delicate and unassuming Morgen, which floated outwards with moving simplicity.

Earlier, we had the premiere performance of Juliet Palmer's Stitching in the Ditch, a New Zealand piece of the regulation eight-minute length, this time joining the worlds of construction sites, classical music snatches, and orchestral tuning elements.

On either side of unpredictable outbursts using waste bins, chains and hammer blows, there were nicely luminous sections of chamber-music clarity, and the overall sense of having brought improbable worlds together was enjoyable. It was also part of the composer's intention, since the work marks the meeting of Auckland and Christchurch, through the orchestra's upcoming trip south.

The orchestra clearly enjoyed playing the second symphony of Sibelius, especially in the majestic, brooding depths of the second movement's andante.

The fast third movement was something of a helter-skelter in the string parts, but the trio featured a dream team of clarinets, oboes and solo cello, and the gradual emergence of the big, unforgettable finale tune sent everyone home a-humming.

This orchestra seems to have an affinity for Sibelius. Maybe they should plan another series of his symphonies soon.