NZSO National Youth Orchestra at the Auckland Town Hall

By WILLIAM DART

The NZSO National Youth Orchestra can always be relied on for a night of magnificent music-making, and Sunday's concert was no exception.

Under the meticulous baton of Lutz Koehler, a familiar figure to many on stage and in the audience, the hundred-plus players thrilled with a programme that had been carefully designed to showcase the brilliance and energy of youth.

Initially, I was concerned that the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan and Isolde might not be teenage territory, but after a few notes into the famous cello theme, there was clearly no cause for worry.

Within minutes, the full fervour was unleashed, the strings unfurled their rushing scales to find an ultimate resolution in Isolde's great farewell.

A subtle performance this, as the players caught those crucial moments of hesitation before being inevitably drawn into Wagner's all-enveloping waves of passion.

Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges thrilled, showing the sheer luxury of having a contingent of 30 full-toned violins. Koehler's technique ranged from the merest movement of a finger in the March to great climaxes where he seemed to be physically embracing the luxuriant sounds the orchestra was making.

After interval, Mahler's mighty First Symphony was given an impressive airing.

The utter stillness of the opening pages was a testament to the control and discipline of both conductor and players. Whispered, half-heard fanfares and birdcalls set the scene until cellos and basses firmly led us into the main section.

With well-wrought fluctuations of tempo and remarkable tonal diversity, from whooping horns to soaring strings, this was top-drawer playing.

If there was the occasional nervousness in the Blumine second movement, the Landler-like third was richly confident and the young musicians took the frolics of the fourth movement to heart, with its tongue-in-cheek echoes of street music.

The Finale blazed in all the glory of D major, especially in its final pages, but also had moments of finely-observed delicacy.

This was an inspirational concert. In these times when we hear so much negative reportage about the survival of concert hall music, two hours in the town hall restored one's faith in the health of the art.