William Dart review: Heady delights from Auckland Philharmonia

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Samy Rachid at the Auckland Town Hall.
OPINION
The heady delights of Auckland Philharmonia’s Joie de Vivre might well have been a sonic translation of the concert’s title. And French conductor Samy Rachid was just the man to deliver two hours of life-affirming joyousness and stylish elegance in an evening devoted to French and French-inspired music.
Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin was a spirited welcome, spinning us into a delicious whirl with its mesmerising prelude.
Before Ravel was farewelled with a whipcrack of a finale, there was poignancy and poise in the central movements, especially in a gently sighing minuet.
Rachid would sign off the programme spectacularly with Poulenc’s The Sinfonietta, full of scampish good humour, through to another runaway finale.
In a more relaxed vein, its andante cantabile saw the refinement and subtlety of its scoring beautifully echoed in performance.
Toru Takemitsu’s Three Film Scores for String Orchestra reminded me very much of the Japanese composer’s admiration for the Frenchman Messiaen. Rachid used hands alone here to mould the rich and sometimes pungent harmonies, whether jazzy or eerie; with a closing, throwaway waltz that forged a definite French connection.
For all its popularity, Saint-Saens’ Piano Concerto No 2 has not been heard in this hall since 2008, with Auckland Philharmonia last programming it an astonishing 36 years ago.
The piece may have had its detractors (for Polish pianist Zygmunt Stojowski, it began with Bach and ended with Offenbach), but on Thursday night it was a mighty showcase for pianist Louis Schwizgebel, from the magisterial ruminations of its opening cadenza.
Together with maestro Rachid, the Swiss pianist revealed premonitions of a moody Rachmaninov yet to be born, and both approached the hearty galloping of its second movement with unswerving sangfroid.
Saint-Saens’ finale, like a delicate dessert after a hearty meal, was the epitome of Gallic grace. The generous Schwizgebel, perhaps bearing in mind the title of the night’s concert, played Debussy’s L’Isle joyeuse as a brilliant encore, reminding us how starved the city has become for solo recitals.
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