MUSIC REVIEW : ORCHESTRA EAGER BUT UNREFINED

If last week’s visit to San Diego by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was an intoxicating symphonic interlude, Thursday evening’s performance by members of the San Diego Symphony was a dose of sobering reality.

At the East County Performing Arts Center, the local musicians played to a house that was no more than one-quarter full. Under the direction of guest conductor Jean-Charles Francois, the orchestra’s playing was long on enthusiasm but short on refinement.

Francois, a composer, percussionist and member of the UC San Diego music faculty, chose a program appropriate to his French roots, works by Berlioz, Debussy and Ravel, and to his vocation as percussionist, Haydn’s Symphony No. 103, the “Drum Roll.”

From the opening Berlioz “Roman Carnival” Overture, it was clear that the ebullient Francois was not going to impress his audience with Gallic understatement. His podium style was gymnastic, at times as unbridled as some of his own zany compositions, but his grasp of the scores appeared solid underneath the gyrations.

Francois’ strongest suite was the Debussy “Nocturnes,” in which he displayed a sensitive feeling for the work’s misty colors and programmatic architecture. For the final movement, “Sirenes,” Francois brought a chorus of 16 women from UC San Diego. Dominated by a few strong voices, the choral ensemble only approximated their portion of the score.

Although Francois scaled the orchestra down to proper classical proportions for the Haydn, his “Drum Roll” was neither elegant nor courtly. The articulations were overly athletic, the meters labored, and, in the finale, the sonorities strident. In spite of the modest size of the 1,200-seat hall, Francois regularly demanded blasting fortes that would have made proud any marching band. Principal timpanist Tatsuo Sasaki, however, was allowed some deft drumming.

Ravel’s colorful “Alborado del Grazioso” made a splashy and ear-splitting finale. Sheer decibels from the brass could not make up for the messy string pizzicati that launched the piece.

In terms of orchestra personnel, the ensemble that performed Thursday was substantially the same orchestra that played last season, with notable exceptions among the first-chair players. No fewer than six principal players listed in the program--including concertmaster Andres Cardenes--did not perform. And three other first-chair players now listed as acting principals had been demoted by former Music Director David Atherton. With the exception of the violins, the discipline within the sections was surprisingly strong under such circumstances.

The program will be repeated at 8 p.m. Sunday in UCSD’s Mandeville Auditorium.