New Zealand composer Ross Harris’ Symphony No. 4 was commissioned by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. It is subtitled “To the Memory of Mahinarangi Tocker,” a New Zealand poet and songwriter. Each of its five movements appends a text by Tocker, rather unhelpfully to be honest. For example, the first movement is inspired, allegedly, by the following: “The sea mimics a thousand applauding kanuka.” A kanuka, if you care, is a large flowering shrub indigenous to coastal New Zealand. Here is yet another case where the verbiage tends to overwhelm the actual music.
The style of the work, however well-intentioned, is generically post-modern: quasi-tonal, scored with lots of percussion, and best in the slower, more lyrical passages. There is some interesting scoring for various bells, and an important part for solo viola (nicely played by Robert Ashworth), but you don’t get the sense that Harris is comfortable writing for the full ensemble. Despite atmospheric moments the thematic material is for the most part resolutely unmemorable.
The Cello Concerto, on the other hand, strikes me as more successful. The music progresses from somewhat grotty darkness and stasis to somewhat less grotty brightness and activity. As in the symphony, Harris seems to be at his best in the slow music–the quicker passages lurch about with anyone’s energy–but the writing for the solo instrument is effective and it’s brilliantly played by Li-Wei Qin. The work has the potential to grow on you, I think, although only time will tell if it does. Excellent sonics and fine orchestral playing present the music in the best possible light, but the symphony remains problematic, at least for this listener.
