On Thursday night, Gershwin’s breezy opening set the scene as cinematically as Stravinsky’s Petrushka, unleashing a veritable flood of melodies. The climax would come in that gloriously bluesy outburst, so sinuous on solo trumpet, yet positively stirring when taken up by soaring AP strings.
The orchestra’s indefatigable concertmaster Andrew Beer, long treasured for bringing us concertos by the likes of Ligeti, Szymanowski and Gillian Whitehead, took on soloist duties again for the New Zealand premiere of Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto.
This major score might allow itself to party in its final hootenanny movement with orchestral foot-stomping and hand-clapping, but it introduces itself with beautifully gauged romantic vein.
Beer’s vibrant tone and mastery were never in doubt, especially in a rondo capriccioso, where his gripping cadenza moved into a piquant duet with colleague Eric Renick on drum kit.
Marsalis effortlessly navigates his various musical worlds, peaking for me in the blues of the third movement, its subtle shifts and shapely phrasings connecting well with Beer’s much appreciated encore — a transcription of Gershwin’s But Not For Me, with a luscious Jonathan Tunick arrangement.
What: Auckland Philharmonia
Where: Auckland Town Hall
When: Thursday
