NEWS from Young Concert Artists, Inc.

Benjamin Baker, violinist

Classical review: Outraged, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra William Dart| The New Zealand Herald | October 28, 2016

There was little to shock and much to delight in Auckland Philharmonia Orches- tra's Outraged, a concert of music that jolted sensibilities in its time.

Giordano Bellincampi ensured that an exhilarating dash through Mozart's Marriage of Figa- ro Overture never sacrificed elegance with bustling strings and sleek woodwind.

Viennese critic Eduard Hanslick famously found olfactory offence in Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto but tonight, the lambasted score was in robust and sweet-smelling health.

Orchestral passions bloomed behind 26-year-old New Zealander Benjamin Baker, a popular last-minute replacement for the advertised soloist. A few moments of nervousness aside, Baker's was a finely observed interpretation, with a perfectly proportioned cadenza and a soulful Canzonetta showcasing the burnished tone of his 1709 Tononi instrument. There was also much to admire in his sonorous Kreisler encore.

After interval, we had no need to see Salome shed her seven veils to enjoy the libidinous lan- guor of her celebrated dance, as the APO let Strauss' Viennese waltz deliciously decay before our ears.

Bartok's The Miraculous Mandarin is a miraculous piece of music; lurid yet touching, pitting primitive rhythms against anguished lyricism, not to mention a launch that sounds like John Adams in Chinatown.

The orchestra caught it all in one great glow, much benefiting from the doom dispelled by John Wells' Klais organ and the agile poetry of Kenny Keppel's clarinet.

YOUNG CONCERT ARTISTS, INC. 250 West 57th St, Suite 1222, New York, NY www.yca.org Telephone: (212) 307-6656 Fax: (212) 581-8894 [email protected]