Variety spices up Sacramento Chamber
Orchestra evening
CONCERT REVIEW: SCO November 22, 2003
By Rasmi Simhan
Sacramento Bee Arts Critic
Adams: Shaker Loops
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor
Denis Azabagic, guitar
Zvonimir Hacko, conductor
The ear usually adjusts to different worlds of sound and ways of listening during a concert. After a modern piece that compels one to listen for variations on a pattern, the program might shift to a Spanish-flavored work of changing moods, from toe-tapping rhythms to aching melancholy. Then Mozart rewards the mind and heart with a seemingly simple, catchy melody that, by changing keys, modes and instruments, becomes deeper than the decorous surface indicates.
The Sacramento Chamber Orchestra offered a solid performance of this lineup – John Adams “Shaker Loops,” Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez,” and Mozart’s “Symphony No. 40 in G Minor” – Saturday night at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Guest Artist Denis Azabagic played the guitar with skilled ease.
Though John Adams wrote “Shaker Loops” in 1978, it’s easier on the average listener than much of the classical music of its time. The tonal harmonies of the San Francisco-based composer sound familiar in this piece written for strings.
“Loops” takes restless, back-and-forth sounds and varies their volume, instrumentation and intensity in a soundscape like the course of hills and valleys on an exercise bike. Under the baton of Zvonimir Hacko, the musicians made these changes in the quality of sound apparent to ears that were probably not familiar with the work. The high, keening, squeaky sounds were produced ably. Perhaps the represented flashes of sacred vision.
The more accessible “Concierto de Aranjuez” warmed and brightened the chilly November night. As written, it brings out both the rhythm and singing quality of the guitar. Azabagic played with precision and bell-like clarity; every note rang out clearly no matter how rapid the passage, though they did not reverberate much. He was not one to linger over notes and draw them out for effect. Instead, he swept along with briskness and ease.
Listeners may have been disappointed by the amplification, which to some ears flattens and deadens the sound. The effect can be compared to the difference between store-bought and farmers market vegetables. Store-bought ones are reliable, more uniform and more expensive, while market ones burst with many flavors and are less perfect, but real.
Mozart’s 40th symphony opens with a sense of dramatic tension that never lets up. The orchestra tended to smooth out the edges instead of attacking the notes sharply thus creating a spectrum of nuance, color, and shaping that brought motivic material to life. When the ensemble played all at once, the vibrance of the sound was a pleasure to hear.