Marin Alsop conducted the LA Philharmonic two weeks ago in a Tchaikovsky
(Francesca da Rimini,) Barber (First Symphony,) and Rachmaninoff (2nd
Piano Concerto) program.  The latter featured the famous/notorious Lang
Lang at the keyboard.

The two symphonic pieces don't stand out in my memory apart from being
played at the usual high standards expected.  The concerto was, like
Lang or lump him, also up to snuff.  The orchestra backed him without
overwhelming him.  He plays with no tension, his shoulders just a vehicle
to get ten surgical fingers to the keyboard.  He does have his mannerisms;
gazing heavenward, conducting with his left hand, among others.  He and
Alsop are well-matched in the gesturing department.  I've not seen such
swooping, leaping, exhorting, and facial contortions in the time that
I've been watching the conductor at the WDCH.  Lang offered Traumerei
as an encore.  He's also the first performer I've seen who has turned
around to acknowledge the applause from the audience seated behind the
orchestra.  Alsop kindly stepped aside to let the kid play to the crowd
during the curtain calls.  In turn, he virtually dragged her back onstage
more than once.

I'd only heard the name of Alexander Zemlinsky until Saturday when
I attended a rare Saturday matinee concert on a whim.  James Conlon,
whom I like very much, opened with the 45-minute Die Seejungfrau.
After intermission, there was a conducted sextet from Strauss's Capriccio
followed by a Suite from Der Rosenkavalier.  Two massive all-hands drills
with a chamber piece in-between is unusual.  Conlon had conducted in
Yasuhisa Toyota's hall in Sapporo several years ago.  Around two years
ago, he and Ed Yim (Director of Artistic Plannig,) decided upon this
program for the WDCH to show off the dynamic possibilities of the space.
It worked handsomely.  Seejungfrau and Rosenkavalier have much in common,
especially scope.  There were also some contrasts in, for lack of a
better term, timbre, that made them complement each other particularly
well.  I'll be looking more into Zemlinsky's music based on this experience.
Conlon's style is animated yet not distracting.  Judging solely by the
output, the musicians respond well to him.  Concertmaster Martin Chalifour
had ample opportunity to strut his stuff in all three pieces.  The
Capriccio didn't suffer for being performed in a venue of that size.

Conlon conducted his Lady Macbeth suite with the Phil two years ago
at the Dorothy Chandler in a weekend widely regarded as a triumph.  At
that time, he made the rounds of some of the orchestra's donor groups.  I
attended one of those luncheons and his talk demonstrated deep scholarship
along with charisma to burn.  This time around, Executive Director Deborah
Borda interviewed Conlon for the pre-concert talk.  He'll be back in
October for two major weekends of "Silenced Voices," music by composers
such as Ullmann and Schulhoff who perished during World War II.  Joint
programs with the LA Opera, the Museum of Tolerance, and the Wilshire
Boulevard Temple are also planned.  I think Conlon is being considered
for something bigger in Los Angeles.  I hope it comes to pass.

Ravi Narasimhan
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