MOZART HUMBLES, MAHLER STUMBLES IN SAN JOSE 
                                              By Paul Hertelendy 
        artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area music and dance 
                                                                 Week of June  6-13, 2010
                                                                  Vol. 12, No. 108
          SAN JOSE---I traveled here for some Mahler, and instead came away dazzled by choral Mozart lovingly rendered.
            The Symphony Silicon Valley unveiled a mid-career Mozart we hear too rarely---the “Solemn Vespers,” K. 339, an eloquent sacred work that humbles us. Here we are spared the Mass-composition rush jobs for which Mozart is notorious (often ascribed to the thorny relationship with his patron, the Archbishop of Salzburg). Instead we get a vibrant and even theatrical work going beyond his operatic efforts of the time (notably “Idomeneo”), in no way meriting the adjective “solemn.”
            This is in Mozart’s best Italian style, with soaring sopranos and big vocal jumps. The opening “Dixit” (He Said) with its four-square harmonies is an affirmation of faith---a lot more affirmation than what Mozart usually manifested in his life. The dramatic choral writing in “Laudate pueri” (Praise, Youths”) is stirring to the core. The “Beatus vir” (Blessed Man) segment for chorus, instruments and four vocal soloists with florid elements has to be called operatic, foreshadowing works like “Cosí fan tutte” and “The Marriage of Figaro.” And the night-music serenade in slow triple time of  “Laudate Dominum” is enough to make your heart melt---and never mind that Wolfgang recycled it in a later “Agnus Dei.” The massed scene of the finale “Magnificat” with its elaborate counterpoint is on a scale much larger than the chamber orchestra (devoid of violas and most woodwinds) would suggest possible.
            Though saddled with a shortage of tenors, Elena Sharkova’s 80-voice Symphony Silicon Valley Chorale acquitted itself quite well, showing very good diction in the Latin. The vocal soloists were at best adequate. The 28-member instrumental ensemble under Leslie B. Dunner’s baton was responsive and delectable.
            Dunner could not however match that eloquence in the Mahler Symphony No. 4. Not even close. The timing of the selection appeared particularly apt, as we are embarking on the Mahler centennial; furthermore, in these first eight seasons the SSV had never played Mahler. The ensemble was a bit undermanned---only 50 strings, for instance. But the big problem was Dunner’s total unfamiliarity with Mahler style and interpretation. Right from the jerky opening, Dunner, best known as music director of the Joffrey Ballet, was unable to bring sections together mellifluously, nor capture the whimsy or multi-dimensionality that is Mahler, the late romantic with the complex psychological makeup.
            It’s a work on a huge canvas, an hour long. In the Scherzo, a retuned violin (nicely played by Robin Mayforth), more country fiddle than orchestral instrument,  portrays a devilish spirit in a section the composer called “Death Strikes Up.” And the slow movement, already foreshadowing the famous “Adagietto” of the Fifth Symphony, ends, as critic Michael Steinberg phrased it, with Mahler ushering us into heaven.
            This is the most joyous of Mahler’s 9+ symphonies, buoyed by the soprano’s giddy celestial text in the finale. Unfortunately the sunny singer, Charlotte Pistor, was drowned out by the orchestra. But that was the least of the problems in the performance.
            At this point between seasons, the SSV needs to reconsider whether its revolving doors on the maestro dressing room are the best solution, particularly when some of the guests coming back again and again do not show consistent and exemplary musical talents. It is among the very few West Coast orchestras getting by year after year without a music director. At this point, the SSV is merely getting by, not consistently inspiring its audiences.
            But there were pluses on June 5---a healthy and responsive audience, the very attractive California Theater, a look ahead to next year, and singers who truly love the medium, like the Mozart soloist who rushed to doff the formal wear at intermission and took rather breathlessly to the balcony in order to hear the closing symphony.
            That, my friends, is true love of music.
            Symphony Silicon Valley at the California Theater, San Jose, with seven 2009-10 concert sets resuming Sept. 30. For info: (408) 286-2600, or go online.

        ©Paul Hertelendy 2010
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           Paul Hertelendy 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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