Auckland Philharmonia at the Bruce Mason Centre

By WILLIAM DART

The first concert of the Auckland Philharmonia's Lion Foundation Midwinter Masterpieces series may have been 10 minutes late in starting, but any restlessness among the audience was quelled when visiting Chinese conductor Xian Zhang strode on stage.

The Overture to Verdi's La Forza del Destino came with all the raw excitement of the opera house pit, spurred on by the rather boxy acoustics of the auditorium. Fiercely energetic in gesture, Zhang seemed intent on compressing the drama of the whole opera into eight minutes and nearly succeeded.

The orchestra's new principal cellist, John Eckstein, made his debut in the Schumann Concerto. Although the first movement lacked some of the passion and inner drive needed, the American impressed with his clarity of line and phrasing.

It was in the central Langsam, where Schumann strips away all emotional defences, that Eckstein was at his most persuasive, blending with his colleagues in the gently shifting pulses of the score.

Three sparkling dances from Smetana's The Bartered Bride awaited us after interval. Zhang's dynamism was bordering on over-the-top, but how good it was to be reminded of Smetana's brilliant orchestral palette.

The players frankly had a ball with their various workouts, from thundering timpani in the opening Polka to beerhall trombones in the Furiant.

Mozart's G minor Symphony K 550 was simply superb, with an unflinchingly Allegro molto first movement that kept us on the edge of our seats.

Zhang's dashing baton fully illuminated this most translucent of Mozart's scores and, bursting through the repeat bars, the conductor stormed through the Development section with a Giovanni-like fury.

The Andante did not walk, it strode, buoyed on the crispest of rhythms. The Minuet proved an equally athletic partner, although the Trio seemed a little overshadowed by its hearty surroundings.

The Finale revisited the high drama of the opening movement, ending with players and audience well nigh breathless.

Zhang returned to give us a taste of China with an encore that was a flashy arrangement of a number of folksongs. The colours were dazzling and primary, the performance energetic, and the running time, alas, a little over-generous.