New Zealand Symphony Orchestra at the Town Hall

By TARA WERNER

TOWN HALL, Auckland - There is a moment after the third movement in Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 6 Pathetique where the sheer exhilaration of the music causes an almost inevitable and immediate audience response.

This was the case at last Friday night's concert, and while the reaction was understandable, it meant the poignant atmosphere of the following adagio lamentoso was in danger of being ruined.

All credit to conductor Matthias Bamert for bringing the symphony back on an even keel, and the composer's moving finale was communicated with necessary dignity.

Bamert certainly knows his music, conducting this challenging work, as well as Stravinsky's The Firebird suite by memory.

The Firebird 1919 version is almost a textbook on orchestration. Pared down from the large orchestra of the original 1911 production, it is easy to imagine what effect the music must have made on Ballets Russes audiences.

The NZSO played this sumptuous music with both care and emphasis on detail, from the rumblings of the cellos and double basses at the start of the introduction, to the interjections of the brass in the Infernal Dance, and the famous melody for bassoon in the Berceuse. Meantime, dance was also the centrepoint of a work by Edwin Carr, commissioned by the NZSO in celebration of the composer's 75th birthday.

The Concerto Ballabile for piano and orchestra came across as an attractive and unpretentious portrayal of the importance of maintaining a balance between dance and song in music.

Soloist Richard Mapp moved effortlessly between the different styles, from jazz and ragtime to the tarantella, with the composer's colourful orchestration paying more than a passing nod to Ravel and Stravinsky.