Music and Dance Reviews : David Alan Miller Leads Long Beach Symphony

The Long Beach Symphony welcomed its second guest conductor of the season--and the second of five candidates for the post of music director--to the Terrace Theater Saturday evening. After hearing this concert, one can feel confident that David Alan Miller is a strong contender for the job.

For one thing, he communicates to the orchestra with unusual effectiveness: His beat is unmistakably clear; he conveys changes of tempo and dynamics without ambiguity, and he maintains appropriate balances. Beyond that, Miller proved able to get the orchestra as excited about the music as he was, with stunning results.

From the potent brass introduction to the rousing conclusion of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, the young assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic elicited vital, energetic playing from an already fine orchestra. He made the most of the work’s frequent contrasts of mood and shaped a particularly emotive, dramatic reading.

He also served as an able advocate for Michael Torke’s “Black and White,” a ballet score heard here in its first orchestral performance. The 27-year-old composer and Eastman graduate has absorbed quite a number of styles, including those of the Minimalists and “New Romantics,” but has failed to create a work of real originality. Skillfully orchestrated, rhythmically attractive and tuneful, “Black and White” engages but doesn’t move the listener.

As expected, guitarist Pepe Romero played Rodrigo’s familiar “Concierto de Aranjuez” with eloquence, expression and superb control; the orchestra provided sensitive support.