Críticas de Long Beach, California (enero 2009)

LBSO Leaves No Room For Criticism

By Jim Ruggirello
Downtown Gazette ~ Grunion Gazette

This is getting boring.

The Long Beach Symphony is playing at such a high level these days, and Saturday's all-Tchaikovsky program at the Terrace Theater exhibited such a really astonishing quality of execution, that they leave us critics with very little to criticize. I hate it when that happens.

Tchaikovsky writes for, and demands, a truly virtuoso ensemble. The expression is heightened in intensity, so there is nowhere to hide. His counterpoint is surprisingly intricate, so technique must be spot-on. And throughout all of his works, the composer, like the audience, requires a consistently beautiful sound.

Music director Enrique Arturo Diemecke understands all that, and fortunately our local band is more than up to the various tasks at hand. From the opening of "Francesca da Rimini" to the closing bars of the Symphony No. 2, the LBSO winds and brass created some amazing tonal colors, the strings were really magnificent and the percussion did their usual exemplary (and underappreciated) work.

Diemecke's ability to achieve perfect balance and transparent textures was everywhere in evidence. Striking solo contributions came from Gary Bovyer (clarinet, inexplicably denied a solo bow for "Francesca"), English horn Joan Elardo, flute Heather Clark and horn Joseph Meyer. The entire evening was a display of orchestral playing at its best.

Speaking of soloists, LBSO concertmaster Roger Wilkie played the violin concerto between the tone poem and the symphony, and demonstrated once again why we are so lucky to have him. His sound was huge, filling the cavernous auditorium with ease, and gorgeous. The concerto's well-known technical challenges seemingly presented no challenge at all, and the entire performance was simply wonderful, the equal of many with more celebrated names. Meanwhile, Agnes Gottschewski filled in capably as the violins' leader.

I'm reduced to criticizing Tchaikovsky, since the poor man isn't around to defend himself. "Francesca da Rimini" is very long, and I had trouble hearing any memorable tunes, which made it seem even longer. The piece is certainly dramatic enough, especially in its depiction of the whirlwind that traps the unfortunate lovers in Dante's story, but I suspect most of the audience would rather have been listening to "Romeo and Juliet," which has lots of great tunes and is shorter.

And it's easy to see why No. 2 isn't as well known as the last three symphonies. It begins well enough, with a nicely constructed first movement, but then we get this inane little march, an undistinguished scherzo, and a finale that degenerates towards the end into noisy, over-the-top bombast. For some reason, the finale's momentum is halted in mid-onrush by a gong. A gong? Where the heck did that come from?

Diemecke conducted, and the orchestra played, as if everything was a masterpiece. Indeed, Tchaikovsky was a great composer, even if, except for the violin concerto, these works are not his greatest, and the LBSO continues to demonstrate its development as a great orchestra. Enrique Arturo Diemecke is a great conductor and orchestra builder. Isn't that great?