Christina and Michelle Naughton wowed the audience at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington on Friday night with their performance of Mozart’s Concerto for two pianos with the NZSO.
Fiona McCabe reviews Edo de Waart’s first Masterworks concert of the year with the orchestra also featuring Mahler’s fifth symphony.
The Naughton Sisters Photo: Supplied
As a child, Mozart performed with his equally prodigious sister, Nannerl in concerts around Europe. It is thought his concerto for two pianos was written to be performed with her. My imagination is drawn to the idea of siblings who practice music and grow up together, just like the Naughton sisters, who delighted us with their performance of the E Flat Major concerto for two pianos.
There was a touch of drama to their full toned, nuanced playing whilst their thoughtful, playful conversation allowed the other space to express their ideas, though they for the most part sounded like one musician. The Lutaslowski variations on a theme by Paganini encore was a triumph of glittering technique and musical symbiosis.
Unlike his Symphonies 1-4, Mahler didn’t leave complete descriptions of the movements of his 5th Symphony. Maestro de Waart showed complete command of the score and the composers intentions.
He seemed to be at once responsive to the music in an emotionally directed way, while showing restraint which allowed the music to speak for itself, for the musicians to relish their roles, and us as audience to enjoy it all while making up our own minds about where the music was heading and what it all meant.
