Aotea Centre
Review: Heath Lees
It was not so much deja vu as vu deja on Thursday night. First there was an early symphonic poem by Richard Strauss followed by a Liszt piano concerto. Then, in the second half, everything seemed to go into reverse, with another of Liszt's big display pieces for piano and orchestra, and one more early symphonic poem by Richard Strauss.
It all worked, though. Of the two Strauss pieces - Don Juan first and Death and Transfiguration last (appropriately) - it was the second that came off better. Its slowly changing atmospheres suggested all the right pictures; the different tempi slid into place at the right second and the music unfolded with a deep sense of purpose to its final, cloud-parting moment.
Introducing the performance, conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya said this was one of his favourite pieces. He certainly conducted it that way, urging the utmost from the players, and shaping its inevitable progress with great feeling.
Earlier, Don Juan had brought its fine moments too, with a sensuous oboe solo at the centre, and a seductive violin solo from the leader, Justine Cormack. True, the opening didn't explode in front of us the way it's supposed to, and the strings lacked the numbers to make what Strauss called his "glistening" textures really shine. But there was warmth and pulse in the tone, and a huge reward from the horns, who played their first big theme splendidly, then outdid themselves on the even higher final version.
Pianist Normal Krieger is of the larger-than-life virtuoso school of pianists. He made eloquent work of Liszt's first piano concerto, then returned for the same composer's Totentanz, a pianistic "paraphrase" on the Dies Irae. Nowadays it's not easy to take seriously this combination of pious attitude and pianistic fireworks, but there are some fine moments in the diabolic, contrapuntal energy at the centre, and the unexpected harmonic moves towards the end.
This Royal and SunAlliance programme was probably the orchestra's best this year.
<i>Performance:</i> Auckland Philharmonia
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