William Dart review: Mozart and Copland shine at NZSO’s Jupiter concert in Auckland

Stephen De Pledge holding a portrait of composer Lyell Cresswell aloft, after playing Cresswell’s Piano Concerto No 3 with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Photo / Phoebe Tuxford, NZSO
What: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Where: Auckland Town Hall
When: Saturday
Reviewer: William Dart
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s poster for its Jupiter concert lists two composers under its title – Mozart and Copland – set against a stylised image of principal conductor Gemma New, baton raised and ready.
The eternally vernal soundscape of Copland’s Appalachian Spring made for a crisp welcome, colours bursting through like buds on a bough. Gemma New caught much of the “blithe and beatific” identified by critic Virgil Thomson, as well as the exultant vigour of its folksong finale.
After the interval, Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony justified its Jovian nickname, the ceremonial grandeur of its opening Allegro vivace nicely invested with a touch of impishness. The lyrical outpourings of its Andante cantabile might well have descended from Olympus itself, with a dramatic outburst hinting at a playful Minuet ahead. The contrapuntal resonance of its celebrated finale ended the evening with a glow.
The late Lyell Cresswell may not have been on the poster but his Piano Concerto No 3 more than warranted Jovian status. This, his final work, was written for Stephen De Pledge, who brought the same authority to it that he gave to Cresswell’s first concerto 11 years ago.
Speaking from the stage, the Auckland pianist promised swathes of colour and touches of humour from what might sound like a misbehaving orchestra.
Cresswell, ever the music provocateur, revels in the dissonance of contrasts. Tonight, passages of repeated single notes ran headlong into sonic tsunami; one minute, the piano crashed its way through fiery trills and tremolo, a single glockenspiel chord transfixed the next.
With singular virtuosity, De Pledge guided us through intricate tangles of notes, with diverse partners, at one point a jazzy walking bass. He balanced every delicate and chiming note in a crystalline chorale and brought out the laconic humour of dogged crotchets.
From the rostrum, New made testing rhythms flow with innate naturalness, underlining the unswerving logic and structure of Cresswell’s hushed final pages. After holding a portrait of Cresswell aloft, De Pledge’s encore was Bach’s well-known C major Prelude, with full Steinway sonority.