There was no headlining soloist in Auckland Philharmonia’s Enigma concert on Thursday night — and nor was one needed, with James MacMillan’s new Concerto for Orchestra on the bill.
Thanks to the AP’s participation in commissioning this piece, we had the privilege and downright thrill of hearing this outstanding work just months after its London Symphony Orchestra premiere.
The Scottish composer has stirred together his many musical memories and influences with skill and subtlety. The work’s title, Ghosts, comes from a magical, celesta-driven reminiscence of Beethoven’s Ghost Trio, but there is so much more to be discovered, woven through its 94 pages.
How could one not be swept away by the sheer exuberance and joie de vivre of these musicians, fearlessly adventuring in what the composer himself describes as a virtuosic vehicle?
Galvanic blasts of energy that might have come from Bernstein’s West Side Story contrasted with finely drawn duets. Glorious suffusions of colour go from mysterious shudders of brass and driving, occasionally blistering percussion to exquisite solo strings recalling the pastoral Vaughan Williams.
