LOS ANGELES - Until the Sunday West Coast premiere here of Osvaldo
Golijov's opera, "Ainamadar," it's only a hunch that he is likely to
become a leading composer of the coming decades, but his appearance
with the Philharmonic tonight made such prediction fairly easy to make.
(Especially for those familiar with his Passion and other works.)

The 43-year-old Argentinian stole the show from two of his illustrious
countrymen, no less than Astor Piazzolla and Alberto Ginastera, in a
Walt Disney Concert Hall event, splendidly conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya,
and played by the Philharmonic as if possessed.

Golijov's "Last Round" is simply one of the most exciting and satisfying
works in contemporary music.  Written in 1996 for an English chamber
group and getting an astonishingly, shortsightedly limited exposure in
the US, the work consists of two contrasting parts, which combine into
an overwhelming gestalt.

The first movement is a tribute to the spirit of the bandoneon, but
not actually using the instrument because, according to Golijov "after
Piazzolla, it's just not to be done." It is a brilliant, spirited,
headlong rush into a sonic explosion, first-chair players standing (in
the spirit of the tango), dark-hued strings creating syncopated turmoil
as much at home in Bartok's Hungary and Janacek's Moravia as in Piazzolla's
Argentina.

The second movement is a beautiful adagio, a series of simple, heartfelt
variations on a Carlos Gardel song, weaving a seductive symphonic spell
around the theme of "Muertes del angel."

In just 15 minutes, "Last Round" takes you on a breathtaking, enchanting
voyage, with as much substance and as many riches as some great hour-long
symphonic works.  As to the performance, I had difficulty in recognizing
the Philharmonic, although I heard the orchestra many times over the
years.  Disney Hall's incredible acoustics helped to create a new
organization.  Now that they can hear each other - and each player
recognizes that his or her instrument can be clearly distinguished
anywhere in the hall - the Los Angeles orchestra has taken a quantum
leap of quality.

Together, and in solo spots, the orchestra shone in Piazzolla's Bandoneon
Concerto (with Horacio Romo) and "Tangazo," Ginastera's "Variaciones
concertantes." Principal horn Elizabeth Cook-Shen produced a wonderfully
warm, singing tone in her "Tangazo" solo, followed up likewise in the
Ginastera, whose concerto-for-orchestra structure featured all the
principal players.

Firsts among equals were concertmaster Martin Chalifour, cellist Peter
Stumpf (who must have one of the greatest instruments extant), violist
Dale Hikawa Silverman (whose passionate playing was astounding), oboist
Marion Arthur Kuszyk, bassist Christopher Hanulik.

However many raves about Disney Hall you might have read, there is no
substitute for experiencing it for yourself.  I politely listened before
the concert to a colleague, who compared the hall's sound with some of
the most famous concert venues in Europe.  Once the concert began, I
knew he was wrong.  Disney is better.  In no other hall have I heard
sound that live, immediate, vibrant, and glorious.  In fact, the only
problem with Disney Hall is that it pretty much spoils all other venues
in comparison.

As you sit, seemingly in the nave of ship-like cathedral, with that
wild bunch of wood-covered organ pipes up front, blue patches of "sky"
interspersed with gently curving blond wood surfaces, the place feels
good, comfortable, and the perfect setting for such a superb concert as
the Philharmonic produced tonight.

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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