Music Reviews : Glendale Chamber Orchestra in Concert

Challenging programming for the players and a brand-new work by its resident conductor marked the third concert of its sixth season by the Glendale Chamber Orchestra, Saturday night at Glendale High School.

An agenda that contains Beethoven’s “Fidelio” Overture, Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez” and Ravel’s “Tombeau de Couperin” is an uphill climb for any instrumental ensemble, let alone one as relatively young and untried as this one. But the courageous band, containing on this occasion between 32 and 42 players, often sounded like a group that had used its rehearsals well.

Less scrambling in Beethoven and more contrasts and transparency in Ravel would have been welcome, yet the performances of both these pieces, led confidently by music director/orchestra founder Christopher Fazzi, fell within acceptable, pick-up orchestra standards. In clear and loving readings of solo lines within the works--especially Earle Dumler’s splendid playing of the oboe solos in “Le Tombeau”--they exceeded such standards.

Angel Romero--sporting a cane after a recent auto accident, Fazzi told the large audience--disappointed no one at mid-program, playing the familiar Rodrigo work as energetically and articulately as if it were newly minted. Orchestra and conductor accompanied sympathetically.

Fazzi’s own, “Symphonic Variations,” a conventional but attractive work of 18 minutes’ length, and one which seems to rely on orchestral models by Elgar and Tiomkin, closed the program in a blaze of instrumental showmanship.