THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 18, 1995 TAG: 9502180534
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: CONCERT REVIEW
SOURCE: MARK MOBLEY, MUSIC CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Except for the two living composers, the armory of percussion, the saxophones, the electric organ and the offstage chorus, it's business as usual for the Virginia Symphony this weekend.
Friday at Norfolk's Chrysler Hall, music director JoAnn Falletta unleashed the most distinctive program of her tenure with the orchestra.
Two recent works and Holst's ``The Planets'' were a treat to hear, though the music was just beyond the orchestra's technical reach.
Falletta is the most sought-after musician to have held a post in Hampton Roads. She has two other orchestras and guest-conducts constantly.
Reports of her activities in other cities are glowing, but it's frustrating to read them when her programs elsewhere are more interesting than the ones she presents here.
Friday's lineup was a welcome exception. The concert opened with ``Da Qu,'' a 1991 work by Beijing native Zhou Long. Falletta conducted the world premiere in China two years ago, about the time Zhou was completing a doctorate at Columbia University.
In melody, harmony and instrumental forces, ``Da Qu'' displayed a blend of Chinese heritage and academic Western styles. Zhou took its title from an ancient form of Chinese musical theater. Four solo percussionists played tinkly cymbals, gongs and chimes over thick chords.
The piece was less austere than its early moments led a listener to expect - comical swoops and even a jolly marimba tune emerged.
Symphony percussionists Robert W. Cross, Thomas Bishop, Brent Kuszyk and John Lindberg were assured and expressive. But their material was not always interesting. Solo percussion can sound thin, and in one of Zhou's drum cadenzas it did. The end of the piece seemed to arrive abruptly, but the tart final trumpet dissonance was telling. Zhou emerged to a standing ovation.
He was not the only composer present. The Soprano Saxophone Concerto of Czech-American composer and psychiatrist Alexandre Rudajev followed, with soloist Harvey Pittel.
Falletta also premiered this work, with Pittel, in 1990. The first movement was in a light, French mode reminiscent of Poulenc, with cascading lines and insouciant orchestral writing. The slow second movement seemed unnecessarily long, though there was a magic moment of massed flute, clarinet and string trills. The third movement was perkier.
Pittel also played Debussy's Rhapsody for Saxophone and Orchestra. Pittel's slow, singing tunes had an even tone and some delicious hesitations. But he lacked a clear pulse in fast passages, a trait apparent in his breathlessly fast encore, ``Flight of the Bumblebee.''
``The Planets'' is one of the largest and most entertaining 20th century works, a trip through the solar system on wings of English song and Impressionistic mysticism. From the opening drumbeat of ``Mars, the Bringer of War'' to the fading, wordless voices of ``Neptune, the Mystic,'' it's hard not to be moved by Holst's vital rhythms and bright colors.
But after the challenges of two new works plus the Debussy Rhapsody, stumbles in ``The Planets'' made it seem that Falletta had bitten off more than the orchestra could chew. ``Uranus, the Magician'' had a delightful swagger, but it was about the only movement that felt interpreted and not just played through.
Several factors were working against the piece: The string body was too small to balance the enormous band of winds, the electric organ was a wimpy substitute for a pipe organ, and the whoosh of the heating system further dampened Chrysler Hall's poor acoustics.
That the Virginia Symphony plays in such an inadequate facility shows a woeful lack of community stewardship. ILLUSTRATION: REVIEW
The Virginia Symphony, Friday at Chrysler Hall, Norfolk. The program
will be repeated today at 8 p.m. Music director JoAnn Falletta will
speak on the program at 7 p.m. Tickets: $15 to $34. Call 623-2310 or
671-8100 for details.
by CNB