Auckland Philharmonia shines with Ehnes and Bellincampi at Town Hall
Ehnes’ encore, a lingering Bach Largo, unfolded effortlessly over the most delicate of chords, representing the musical equivalent of a master storyteller at work.
The evening had opened with Schumann’s Manfred Overture, the response of a frail, older composer to Byron’s more youthful passions. Unencumbered by symphonic responsibilities, Schumann’s vivid and volatile writing was, within just two bars, given a bracing workout.
There are many treasurable moments in Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony and these received the fullest of justice, from the almost sculptural moulding of its Andante con moto through to a poignant duet for clarinet and bassoon over sustained string sonorities.
Jonathan Cohen’s breezy clarinet suggested we were in for a trip to a Mendelssohnian fairyland in the second movement but, alas, the composer lets us down with some stodgy tutti. And, although one could not have wished for a shapelier Adagio than Thursday night’s performance, the banality of its material proved a definite liability.
What: Auckland Philharmonia
Where: Auckland Town Hall
When: Thursday