MUSIC REVIEW : Strawberry Creek Ensemble Plays Seventh

There was no shortage of brio on the stage of Smothers Theatre at Pepperdine University Friday evening where Yehuda Gilad led the Strawberry Creek Symphony in the summer festival’s penultimate concert at the Malibu campus.

His forces charged into the finale of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony with more fury and drive than the U.S. Cavalry probably ever displayed in battle. The 42 assembled musicians rendered crescendos with splenetic determination, sforzandos with explosive fire, and subito fortes with the effectiveness of a surprise attack.

But don’t think that this was a rough, uncontrolled performance. True, everyone tended to overplay during the finale--the horns even before that--but Gilad nonetheless achieved technical precision, rhythmic security and extraordinary discipline of ensemble.

And, if a bit of raucousness surfaced at the end, the conductor’s eloquently shaped Allegretto more than compensated.

Gilad’s dynamism and attention to detail made for a spirited reading of the Overture to Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito,” the opening work.

In between, clarinetist Gary Gray and bassoonist Kenneth Munday teamed up to offer a rarity: Richard Strauss’ Duet-Concertino for clarinet, bassoon and string orchestra.

Each soloist exhibited outstanding control and produced a warm, round sound. Soloists and orchestra remained in sync at all times--no small challenge in this tricky (for all concerned) one-movement composition. The Duet-Concertino is not top-drawer Strauss--much of the soloists’ noodling, while difficult, doesn’t seem to lead anywhere--but the work does deserve an occasional hearing, especially with such a fine group of collaborators.