Auckland Philharmonia at the Aotea Centre

By WILLIAM DART

This concert featured one of the less expected couplings of the Auckland Philharmonia's present season, with the luxuriant romanticism of Schumann's Piano Concerto sandwiched between two generous helpings of Prokofiev at his most agreeably mercurial.

Its been some time since the orchestra has given us the Russian composer's Lieutenant Kije, which must be one of the happiest works to have made the journey from film screen to concert hall.

Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya had the measure of Prokofiev's sardonic wit and vivid palette - is there any score that uses piccolo quite so brilliantly?

The clear counterpoint sliced like a well-sharpened Cossack sabre and, when Prokofiev allowed himself a guffaw, the brass heartily obliged.

Piers Lane was soloist in the Schumann Piano Concerto and must have astonished many by the time that he took over its first movement, at times seeming like the line was being considered note by note, rather than by phrases.

The dialogue between orchestra and soloist was at its most persuasive in the slow movement, although the conversation that ensued could have had more of an emotional charge to it.

By the last movement one listened in vain for the buoyant ripple of running quavers, although the composer's rhythmic play remained as tantalising as ever.

Orchestral detail was scrappiest here, reaching a low point when the horns seemed to determined to linger in the minor when Schumann stipulated major. Lane rewarded an enthusiastic audience with a lilting account of Chopin's C sharp minor Waltz.

It was in 2001 that the orchestra last played Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and Harth-Bedoya's selection of these particular nine numbers from the original ballet is a winning one.

Three years on, some aspects were more tautly delivered, particularly the opening Montagues and Capulets, with the orchestra projecting as big and as vibrant a sound as the Aotea Centre allows.

Many players contributed fine solo work, but violist Owen Gordon was superb, catching the heart of the tragedy in his poignant viola solo.

On the debit side was the violin section, with a steely tone and raw intonation in their upper register adding an edge to the music that Prokofiev would hardly have sanctioned.