APO can take Russian bow

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and Xian Zhang have, during 14 years of playing together, cemented an enviable reputation with Russian composers, ranging from familiar Tchaikovsky to Mussorgsky’s and

Stravinsky’s

The concert might not have had the most adventurous programming but exceptional performances vindicated the curious, almost primal, power of the musical warhorse.

One sighed at the merciless repetitions in Tchaikovsky’s

but, thanks to Zhang’s finessed textures, imaginative orchestration saved the evening. This woman is fascinating to watch, arms outstretched, a source of inexhaustible energy; grandeur is unleashed when required but, with a flick of the

Steinbacher’s encore was a thrillingly fierce rendition of Ysaye’s an eerie tangle of solo Bach and an ominous

Zhang recently described Rimsky-Korsakov’s

as the ultimate orchestral showcase and here it certainly was. Punctuated by Andrew Beer’s eloquent violin, we were given a magic carpet ride in sound, with all the splashings and lashings of colour that this most Technicolour and Panavision of scores demands.

Spectacle, however, was not all. Zhang also highlighted the cool beauty of solo weavings in the first movement and, with sumptuous strings portraying the young lovers in the third movement, reminded us the original isa masterpiece of erotic literature.