MOZART AND STRAVINSKY

Review of September 2026 Concert by Rogan Falla

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The fifth Subscription concert in the 2026 series of St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra featured works by Mozart, Stravinsky and a newly commissioned work by Bjorn Arntsen.

Adam Maha was conductor with pianist Tony Chen Lin was piano soloist.  Both are now based overseas with illustrious musical backgrounds – with study and awards in New Zealand and internationally.  Maha is a violist, violinist, arranger and conductor and performs regularly in London, Cologne and Stuttgart.  Chen Lin also performs internationally, having won the NZ National Concerto competition before completing a Master of Music degree at the Hochschule fur Musik Freiburg and further study in Budapest.  It is always rewarding for New Zealand audiences to have NZ-trained musicians return to display their expertise.

Opening with the Mozart symphony, No 31 in D (Paris), Maha conducted with a very expansive style and precise beat.  The orchestra played with discipline and sensitivity.  However, on this occasion a slightly slower pace might have assisted clarity.  The second movement was notable for the delicacy of the string playing, good rhythm and ensemble work from the woodwinds.  The contrapuntal writing in the third movement was executed well.

Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 20 is one of his greatest and most popular.  Tony Chen Lin’s technique is skilled, indeed virtuosic and was received very warmly.   He performed his own cadenzas.  The orchestra is always very aware of the needs of soloists and supported Chen Lin with sensitivity. This was particularly so in the beautiful slow movement.

The commissioned work, Rococo Loops by Bjorn Arntsen was written to link the Mozart Piano Concerto and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite which followed.  Arntsen is Norwegian-born and educated in London, New York and New Zealand.  Much thought must have gone into the composition, with images of the earlier piano concerto opening the work, then elements of the previous century being hinted at, before moving into the twentieth century and themes from Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, itself a re-imagining of the baroque style.  Arntsen was present and received warm applause.

Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, under Pierre Monteux in December 1922.  Serge Diagilev, the Russia impresario had asked Stravinsky to write a ballet score based on the music of Pergolesi (1710-1736).  Adapted to a more modern style, the suite of eight movements had a lively character and charisma and provided a charming piece to end the concert.