NZSO at the Auckland Town Hall

By WILLIAM DART

The full house sign was out on Thursday night for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's Amadeus concert - decades after the play and movie, the name still has box-office clout.

Matthias Bamert, one of the best Mozart men around, led a scaled-down orchestra headlong into the elegant razzle-dazzle of The Marriage of Figaro overture. There were unexpected touches. While the strings scurried around, Bamert slyly directed our attention to the cool harmonies of the woodwind.

Richard Mapp offered the A major Piano Concerto of K 488, one of the composer's most meltingly beautiful works. Again, Bamert signalled changes. It was the marching woodwind rather than the lyrical violins that seemed to drive the opening Allegro.

Mapp engaged thoughtfully with his orchestral colleagues when Mozart offered opportunities for dialogue.

The second movement is music of almost unbearable poignancy. Often, this Adagio is almost caressed into life, but there was no such overt emotionalism here.

In the closing pages, Mapp replaced Mozart's wide operatic leaps with arpeggios, which detracted from the transparency of the scoring.

After interval, the Divertimento K 136 was indeed diverting. The 16-year-old composer was fresh from an Italian trip when he wrote this, and it shows. Bamert and his players delivered it with finesse.

Finally we had the great E flat major Symphony of 1788, with the conductor at his probing best. He caught the ceremony and dignity of the opening Adagio, and in the subsequent Allegro one was swept away by the sheer rhythmic verve. The sprightly pace of the second movement brought about an occasional edge to the first violin line, but the fiery moments were exhilarating.

The Trio offered an earthy response to a rather grand Minuet, and the Finale was so jauntily attractive that one was grateful for a repeat of its second section.

Would that Auckland, like Wellington, had been fortunate enough to have a second helping of Amadeus fare.