A polished ‘Polish’ rescues latest in concert series

Orchestra Wellington conducted by Marc Taddei and Vincent Hardaker with Michael Houstoun (piano) Music by Mussorgsky, Scriabin and Tchaikovsky Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, August 8 Reviewed by John Button

THIS was the third concert in Marc Taddei’s journey through the six Tchaikovsky symphonies and, in certain respects, it was the finest yet. It didn’t start all that auspiciously with 2015 assistant conductor Vincent Hardaker leading a precise, but rather tepid, performance of Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bare Mountain.

The notes were there but the wildness of this work was absent, making for a mild night on Mussorgsky’s mountain.

The Piano Concerto in F Sharp Minor by Alexander Scriabin is an early work that is nothing like the exotic, mystical, densely chromatic, works of his later years: it is a mildly Chopinesque piece with splendidly pianistic work for the soloist. Very pleasant, but scarcely memorable, but both soloist and orchestra made a fine fist of it with lovely, sensitive playing of the highly attractive slow movement.

The concert really came to life in the second half with a superb performance of Tchaikovsky’s little heard Third Symphony ‘Polish’. This work has five movements with the world of the ballet stage not far away. It is scored in highly open fashion with much solo work for both French horn and bassoon – and how brilliantly did both Ed Allen and Preman Tilson respectively play.

But everyone played with precision and brilliance, and it was all conducted, without score, by conductor Taddei with an understanding of the idiom that, without any affectation at all, revealed this work as being worthy of being heard much more often.

There was a gratifyingly large audience on hand, suggesting that the more demanding final three symphonies will be heard by the sort of numbers they deserve.