WOMEN IN MUSIC, PLUS A PREMIERE
                            Walnut Creek's Efforts at a New Beginning
                                                      By D. Rane Danubian
        artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area music and dance 
                                                                 Week of March 6-13,  2011
                                                                  Vol. 13, No. 75
            WALNUT CREEK, CA---I’d like to see the new incarnation of the California Symphony throw caution to the winds. As heard March 6 with guest conductor George Cleve, it’s much too staid for its own good. Without revitalized music-making, it threatens to erode the audiences that fill up most of the hall for subscription programs. <>
            This third program of the new season  follows the September firing of the orchestra’s longtime music director Barry Jekowsky (over an impasse in contract negotiations, according to one report). This has been combined with an income shortfall, resulting in fervent fund-raising efforts, as well as belt-tightening on the artistic side---using in-house concerto soloists and engaging guest conductors throughout. <> 
            In recompense, interesting works emerged with a women-in-music emphasis,  including a world premiere  by Berkeley composer Cindy Cox, 49, here at the Lesher Center. “En espiral” is a five-minute work stretched out to seven minutes, inspired by spiraling DNA and figures of galaxies. It features chattering woodwinds over stern trombone pedal points, and later a short cello solo, and it departs with enigmatic high wind tones, without any cadence. <> 
            There followed the brief, century-old Concertino for Flute by Cécile Chaminade. Unlike Cox, Chaminade had a difficult time gaining visibility, with some of her music published as “C. Chaminade,” in order to hide the feminine origin. It’s a virtuoso showpiece for the soloist, one impressively executed by Monica Daniel-Barker, who managed the flying octave runs flawlessly. <> 
            Bruch’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Viola of 1911 was a treat, spotlighting one of the Bay Area’s arresting interpreters on clarinet, Jerome Simas. Simas can make it sing, make it beg, make it roll over and have it serenade you. His phrasing, subtle dynamics and inherent expressiveness are memorable, as he has shown in many other types of repertory and ensembles. Bruch clearly gave the viola a subordinate role, perhaps because his own son was playing the former instrument at the world premiere. Simas was sublime in the contemplative opening movement, and effusive in the challenging finale. Marcel Gemperli was the closely attuned violist in this 18-minute opus that is a worthy repertory piece, even if the orchestral accompaniment is perfunctory. <> 
            Cleve, who turns 75 this July, conducted with steady restraint throughout. One would hope that one of the various Bay Area orchestras he has led over the years would bake a cake for the occasion. <> 
            California Symphony at the Lesher Center, Walnut Creek, CA on March 6. Next concert: May 1. For info: (925) 280-2490, or go online.
<>        ©D. Rane Danubian 2011
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        D. Rane Danubian has been covering the dance and modern-music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area with relish -- and a certain amount of salsa -- for years.
    These critiques appearing weekly (or sometimes semi-weekly, but never weakly) will focus on dance and new musical creativity in performance, with forays into books (by authors of the region), theater and recordings by local artists as well.
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