The Press Democrat, April 14, 2003

When symphonic programs adhere to a theme, the music sometimes sounds forced or redundant. But when a theme works well, as it did Saturday night at the Santa Rosa Symphony concert, the program can become greater than the sum of its parts. 

At its penultimate subscription concert of the season, the Santa Rosa Symphony under Music Director Jeffrey Kahane performed a handsome trio of all-English works that exploded with dramatic tension and consoled with thoughtful introspection. 

The program was perfectly in tune with the times and with the weather, reflecting both the dark storm clouds over the weekend and the occasional rays of sunshine that pierced through like beams of hope. 

The evening's highlights came just before and after intermission, with the haunting Cello Concerto by Sir William Walton and the uplifting Symphony No. 1 by Sir Edward Elgar. Both works received standing ovations, but the Elgar edged ahead by dint of sheer exuberance and charm. 

As the composer of the "Pomp and Circumstance" marches -- a staple of every high school graduation -- Elgar has been accused of pomposity, but over time his works have been rediscovered as one of the glories of the late Romantic era. 

The son of a piano tuner and music shop owner, Elgar single-handedly rescued Victorian England from its musical doldrums, giving the world the first great British symphony at the late date of 1908. 

In his Symphony No. 1, the mature Elgar tried to communicate "a wide experience of human life with a great charity (love) and a massive hope in the future." 

Set in several unrelated keys, the work pits confidence and doubt against each other in a struggle that many believe reflected Elgar's own life, with its veneer of outward success and its troubled inner world. 

Kahane took Elgar's splendidly long-winded first movement at a nice clip, very close to the tempo Elgar himself set as a conductor. The violas and woodwinds stated the noble, first theme persuasively before handing it over to the rest of the orchestra. 

Solos by concertmaster Joe Edelberg and principal clarinetist Roy Zajac were sweet and understated, with Zajac in particular reaching heights of expression. 

Kahane drove the second movement with verve and gusto. The allegro molto is a scherzo in everything but name, with the strings scurrying nimbly on top of a grim march that alternates with a delicate, singing melody. 

For the lush adagio, Kahane put down his baton and conducted the exquisite, slow melody with his hands. It was a high note in a radiantly splendid piece. 

The final movement, which opens ominously and ends triumphantly with the brass recapitulating the opening theme, brought the house immediately to its feet. 

Before intermission, guest soloist Mark Kosower dug into Walton's challenging Cello Concerto with a natural ease that belied the work's difficulty. 

The 26-year-old Kosower dispatched double-stops, arpeggios and spiccato with virtuosic efficiency. It was hard to decide which was more impressive -- his dead-perfect intonation or his sumptuous tone, which stayed consistently beautiful even way up in the upper register. 

The second movement, punctuated by timpani and xylophone, was particularly sparkling, with moments of pure schmaltz. The improvisational cello cadenzas of the third movement, broken up by a brilliant orchestral interlude, brought this work to an impressive close. 

In a somewhat unusual gesture, Kosower offered up a solo encore -- the Sarabande from the Fourth Cello Suite in E flat by J.S. Bach. It was performed flawlessly, and the audience reacted like a cat being stroked, with purring approval. 

The concert opened with David Matthews' "Introit," a work for two trumpets and strings. Written in 1981, the short piece boasts interesting string timbres and a meandering harmony that seems to come unglued as the work progresses. 

The piece was designed to be performed in a resonant cathedral -- a far cry from the Burbank Center's acoustics. 

However, in an effort to improve the sound in the hall, Kahane has moved the string sections around during the past few concerts, with the second violins now sitting across from the firsts, the cellos sitting inside the first violins and the violas sitting inside the seconds. 

The latest move -- lining up the string basses on risers in the rear -- has consolidated ensemble more than ever, and the band is playing together and projecting like never before. 

Now if they could only do something about that stark, white wall behind the stage. 

The Santa Rosa Symphony will repeat the Saturday program at 8 tonight at the Burbank Center, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Tickets cost $24-$45. Call 546-8742. 

You can reach Staff Writer Diane Peterson at 521-5287 or dpeterson@pressdemocrat.com