MUSIC REVIEW : Ravenscroft Leads Pacific Symphony

There is no denying that Ronald Ravenscroft is a skilled musician. This the 34-year-old composer/conductor clearly demonstrated Saturday evening in Segerstrom Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, where he presided over a special non-subscription concert by the Pacific Symphony that included a performance of his own violin concerto.

But there is also no denying Ravenscroft’s limitations. As a conductor, he demonstrated thorough mastery of the basic elements of baton technique. His beat was clear and steady, and he secured clean attacks and releases.

His reading of Tchaikovsky’s “Pathetique” symphony, however, emerged sterile and dry, since he brought nothing new and personal to the score. Missing were the subtle nuances that make a piece come to life; missing was the dramatic intensity central to the “Pathetique.” The orchestra played with remarkable accuracy, and for this the conductor deserves some credit, but interpretively he conveyed little more than a metronome.

It was one year ago that the Pacific Symphony gave the premiere performance of Ravenscroft’s Violin Concerto, with Alexander Horvath as soloist. On Saturday, Horvath proved a heroic and eloquent advocate for the work, for he played with a pure, liquid tone, flawless control and probing expressivity.

Alas, the meandering violin lines are much the same throughout, and the orchestral part seems at times completely unrelated. Fascinating orchestral colors and sudden dramatic shifts capture the listener’s interest, but only momentarily. Musical ideas are not developed but simply abandoned or repeated. Ravenscroft seems to have drawn from a number of compositional schools--minimalism and neo-romanticism among them--but has failed to synthesize these styles into a cogent statement.

As an encore, Horvath and concertmaster Endre Granat delivered a fine performance of three duos by Bartok. Beethoven’s “Fidelio” overture opened the concert.