MUSIC REVIEWS : STRAWBERRY CREEK MUSIC FESTIVAL

What is Strawberry Creek? Most likely it is a modest little picturesque site up in the hills near Idyllwild where Yehuda Gilad began a modest music festival of that name two years ago.

This summer, the Strawberry Creek Music Festival moved to Pepperdine University in Malibu, where Gilad led the third and final concert on Saturday in Smothers Theatre.

Judging by that program, the festival’s drop in elevation should come as very good news to music lovers who reside closer to sea level.

Gilad led a chamber orchestra dubbed the Strawberry Creek Symphony--a crack ensemble anchored by some of our finest local players and filled out by a healthy contingent of hand-picked students.

The mix of youthful energy and experienced professionalism proved an irresistible one, skillfully blended by Gilad’s sure-handed guidance. Throughout the program, the orchestra played with warmth and bravura. The wit of Stravinsky’s Suites Nos. 1 and 2, the drama of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 and the easy-going spirits of Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony all shone through.

Pianist Edward Auer’s contributions in the G-major Concerto may have occasionally drifted toward the careless, yet these momentary distractions failed to mute the impact of this taut, spirited reading.

Mendelssohn’s full-scaled symphony seemed hardly bothered by the chamber orchestra setting. Though the reduced strings were fully up to the demands of the score, the performance was dominated by the finely-balanced wind section, which also contributed greatly to Stravinsky’s witty, yet demanding suites.