There was little to shock and much to delight in Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Outraged, a concert of music that jolted sensibilities in its time.
Giordano Bellincampi ensured that an exhilarating dash through Mozart's Marriage of Figaro Overture never sacrificed elegance with bustling strings and sleek woodwind.
Viennese critic Eduard Hanslick famously found olfactory offence in Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto but tonight, the lambasted score was in robust and sweet-smelling health.
Orchestral passions bloomed behind 26-year-old New Zealander Benjamin Baker, a popular last-minute replacement for the advertised soloist. A few moments of nervousness aside, Baker's was a finely observed interpretation, with a perfectly proportioned cadenza and a soulful Canzonetta showcasing the burnished tone of his 1709 Tononi instrument. There was also much to admire in his sonorous Kreisler encore.
After interval, we had no need to see Salome shed her seven veils to enjoy the libidinous languor of her celebrated dance, as the APO let Strauss' Viennese waltz deliciously decay before our ears.
