Music of great power and majesty demanding virtuosic performances from soloist and orchestra under the inspired direction of Gustavo Gimeno was applauded with huge enthusiasm by a near capacity audience at the Dunedin Town Hall.
Pianist Stephen Hough, also famed for his writing and composition skills, gave a dynamically brilliant performance of the Brahms' Piano Concerto No 2 in B flat major in which no one movement shone above the rest.
Statuesque, robust and stormy grandeur exuded from the first movement allegro non troppo. In the second movement, allegro appassionata, Hough achieved a fiercely expansive interpretation through an amazing degree of considerable virtuosic stamina.
The cello leads the listener into the third movement's andante elegant soft centre ornamented by the piano's ethereal filigree. The final movement allegretto grazioso contrasts again with a luxurious swirl of folk melody.
Gareth Farr has proved to be a composer of exceptional originality and an ability to be as New Zealand as Lilburn. From the Depths of the Great Sea Gongs Part 1 is an unsentimental, unabashed and riotous celebration encapsulating a very Pacific joie de vivre. Commissioned for the NZSO's 50th anniversary, it continues to serve them well.
Shostakovich's Symphony No 1 in F major is an equal signature work but is characterised by a sense of dread. allegretto conjures a black carnival. The naive flute folk melody is mockingly closed off by a lugubrious bassoon and muted stifled trumpet. It ends with extreme timidity.
Gimeno led the opening and closing scherzo in allegro at a frenzied pace and offset its panic with an imperial yet cynical procession.
Lento is a lament where an emboldened cry from the full orchestra is silenced by the snare drum and laced with dire undercurrents. Allegro molto closes the work with impassioned rage that brought clamours of delight from the audience.
-By Marian Poole
