The Harpist. Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.
Xavier de Maistre. City Recital Hall. May 5.
★★★★

After a measured introduction from the Brandenburg Orchestra, harpist Xavier de Maistre launched into the solo exposition of the Harp Concerto in C, Opus 82, by French composer Francois-Adrien Boieldieu with elegant clarity, tapering and phrasing each idea with panache and drawing subtle variety from the harp's delicate tonal range.

Boieldieu is sometimes called the "French Mozart" but the Brandenburg Orchestra's performance of the Symphony No. 20 in D major, K. 133 by the 16-year-old Austrian Mozart (not admittedly the best of his teenaged works) put that idea to rest.

Whereas Mozart was a genius at eliding one flight of musical imagination into the next, creating a shifting, irregular sense phrase structure, Boieldieu seemed to like cadences that tied up every idea in a bow, pausing for effect before moving on to the next.

But de Maistre drew out its quintessential grace with stylish imaginative flair.