Out of the darkness
Kalmar leads NZSO as it unites all in music with music for troubled times
Introducing the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s Matauranga concert, conductor Carlos Kalmar spoke of the diverse cultural backgrounds of its four composers and the potentially unifying role of music.
His stirring conclusion lingered throughout the evening: “We are all in this together, and it can work.”
It certainly did work from the first mysterious murmurings of Michael Norris’ new Matauranga (Rerenga), marking the current Cook anniversary with a highly charged blending of Alistair Fraser’s taonga pu¯ oro and full orchestra.
The often fragile sounds of the Ma¯ ori instruments were mixed live by Norris, merging with and oscillating around a vibrant orchestral palette. It was a coming together as symbolic as it was sonic, a rich and thought-provoking response to a biculturalism that requires vigilant tending.
Scottish pianist Steven Osborne took us back to Cook’s time with Mozart’s A major concerto K 414. This was peerless pianism, his intense expressivity complemented by the luscious sweeps that
Kalmar coaxed from generous ranks of violins. There was opportunity for elegant Viennese sparkle, especially at cadenza time, but Osborne’s encore was low key; a beautifully understated Bagatelle from Beethoven’s last years.
After interval, the strings transported us to Argentina for Osvaldo Golijov’s Last Round ,a tribute to the late Astor Piazzolla. Experienced live, this spirited performance rewarded eyes as well as ears, as we followed the thrust and parry of tango fragments, passed around from player to player.
Carl Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony wears its moniker, The Inextinguishable, proudly and significantly. Intended by its Danish composer as a blast of positivity during the dark years of World War
I, it could well serve a similar purpose in our troubled times. This music has a bracing momentum that simply doesn’t let up. Kalmar drew us into its welter of symphonic energy from the great affirmative shout of its first movement to a hall-shattering finale.