MUSIC REVIEWS : Israel Chamber Orchestra Opens Tour With Lackluster Appearance in Irvine

If the Israel Chamber Orchestra, led by Yoav Talmi, opened its current North American tour with unimpressive results Wednesday in Irvine, put some of the blame on the acoustically inhospitable South Coast Community Church.

Acoustics robbed the strings of bloom, foregrounded the winds and accentuated the percussion to booming proportions.

Still, that was only part of the problem. Although Talmi and his 36-member ensemble closed the program with a strong, energetic reading of Mozart’s “Linz” Symphony, they also offered sluggish, indifferently played Bach, dutifully interpreted Hindemith and cautiously approached modernism, dating from 1965-66, by the Israeli composer Tzvi Avni.

Soloists Eliyahu Shulman and David Braude--both members of the orchestra--lacked profile and engaged in little dialogue in Bach’s Concerto in D minor for Two Violins. The ensemble, led by Talmi from the harpsichord, provided only rote accompaniment.

In his “Kammermusik” No. 1, Hindemith dealt appealingly with the legacy of quirky, shifting rhythms and luxuriant colors inherited from early Stravinsky and Ravel, respectively. But the chamber players responded without much drive, punch or expressivity.

Avni’s “Meditations on a Drama,” a 14-minute exploration in contrasts, sounded academic and uninspired, but the players appeared determined in their efforts.

Before the Mozart, Talmi had seemed a dispassionate leader, conducting with restricted, time-beating gestures, amplified occasionally with a swoop from the left arm. He seemed to have few ideas and little affection for the music.

That changed for the “Linz” Symphony. Even though the emphasis here was on vigor, weight and design at the expense of grace, charm or introspection, he seemed engaged and offered a viable interpretation, if not an ideal one.