Masaaki Suzuki and the NZSO take on classical music’s legends

In a programme dedicated to those legends of Western classical music, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra joined forces with Japanese conductor Masaaki Suzuki, himself something of a legend renowned for his interpretations of Bach. Focusing on works in which the orchestra plays alone, with no concertante music, put the spotlight on Suzuki’s lean but powerful leadership of these works.

The evening opened with Bach’s Orchestral Suite no. 3 in D major, with a reduced orchestra. The initial Overture can sometimes seem sprawling, but was delivered here with striking cohesion and drive. Suzuki’s approach emphasised momentum, unfolding the movement’s successive themes with an invigorating sense of purpose and majestic orchestral playing. The trumpet section was especially impressive, navigating Bach’s difficult passagework with brilliance, entirely free of strain. The well-known Air was shaped with emotional restraint, phrased with beautifully diminishing lines that deepened its lyrical poignancy. Subsequent dance movements were imbued with clarity of line, sharp articulation and lively rhythm, culminating in a Gigue of tremendous verve.

Suzuki presented Mozart’s Symphony no. 25 in G minor with a clarity that looked more backwards to the Baroque than forwards toward Beethoven. Suzuki embraced the Sturm und Drang character of the work, stressing its expressive contrasts and maintaining a thrilling intensity. The first movement crackled with fiery energy, the strings in particular responding with agility to Mozart’s rapid sequences and rhythmic complexity. The oboe, too, impressed in its affecting solos. The serene Andante that followed revealed unexpected depths of expression, with Suzuki allowing the silences between phrases to carry just as much weight as the music itself. Surprising dynamic changes filled the Minuet and its Trio danced with earthy vitality, the woodwind’s spirited playing to the fore, while the finale drew out further Haydnesque contrasts in dynamics, the orchestra maintaining crispness of playing and Suzuki never stinting on verve and excitement in his interpretation.

The clarity Suzuki cultivated in the earlier works carried over into Beethoven’s Symphony no. 3 in E flat major, the highlight of the evening. Suzuki’s interpretation crackled with vitality, precise and agile without ever diminishing its grandeur. The opening chords of this Eroica struck with commanding force, setting the tone for a first movement that drove forward with what felt like unstoppable momentum. The cellos entered with warm tone, their phrasing both eloquent and expressive. Only a momentary stumble from the horns intruded at the beginning, but for the remainder of the performance, the orchestra played confidently in pursuit of Suzuki’s intensity and drive. 

Suzuki took a relatively fleet approach to the Marcia funebre, avoiding excessive solemnity while preserving its emotional weight. The double basses set a sombre yet sinuous tone, and the conductor’s emphasis on transparency allowed the movement’s harmonic tensions to emerge with uncommon clarity. The Scherzo was vividly characterised, with sharply defined accents and a dancing quality that echoed the Bachian spirit. The horn section redeemed its earlier uncertainty with a confident and vibrant performance in the Trio. The final movement featured gleaming contributions from the woodwinds and a thrilling contribution from the timpani. One particularly striking moment came in the exchange between strings and woodwinds near the end, a spellbinding stillness before the coda exploded into motion. The coda itself was exhilarating, bringing the symphony to a triumphant close.

While the NZSO does not perform on period instruments, Suzuki's interpretative approach nonetheless evoked the sensibilities of historically informed performance. His rhythmic vitality, driving momentum and variety of expression brought new life to these familiar works.