MUSIC REVIEWS : NEW CONCERTO AT STRAWBERRY CREEK

Like Stravinsky’s witty “Dumbarton Oaks” Concerto, the concerto written for the fourth program at the Strawberry Creek Festival in Malibu has one thing going for it--a catchy title. And like the 1938 composition, the work being given a premiere performance Wednesday evening in Smothers Theater at Pepperdine University is a kind of concerto grosso. But there the similarity ends.

Composer Charles Harold Bernstein seems little influenced by old or new trends. His harmonic language is tonal, effectively mixing major and minor modes. The “Strawberry Creek” Concerto, built around an unpretentious, folk-like melody has a degree of pastoral charm. But the work fails architectonically; there is no dramatic progression, little thematic development and no continuity between sections.

The two soloists--flutist Gary Woodward and bassoonist Kenneth Munday--brought style and virtuosity to their rather busy parts; conductor Yehuda Gilad led a sympathetic orchestra.

Mozart’s fourth horn concerto gave Richard Todd a fine vehicle for expression. In contrast with the bold swagger some hornists bring to their playing, Todd performed with genteel restraint. He produced a pure and uncommonly limpid sound; one felt privileged to hear Mozart played with such elegance and refinement. Gilad’s forces provided crisp, energetic accompaniment.

Following intermission, Gilad led the 44-piece orchestra in Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony. Aside from the shaky start in the Scherzo, Gilad’s “Eroica” proved scrupulously refined and meticulous in detail. Countermelodies emerged with striking clarity; attacks and releases were executed immaculately. Yet there seemed little spontaneity in this reading--the musical statement seemed to come more from the head than the heart.

Except in the Funeral March. Here conductor and orchestra imbued the music with extraordinary tension and drama, rendering this movement, appropriately, the apex of the work.