MUSIC REVIEW : Pacific Symphony Celebrates Lebanese at Segerstrom Hall

If you had any doubts about the law of diminishing returns, you could have seen it in action Saturday night at Segerstrom Hall, where the 500 Club for Lebanon presented a concert entitled “Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!”

Like the title, the generous program was fraught with superfluities. Listeners received not one but two printed programs--the official Performing Arts Center program, and a handsome but error-ridden booklet prepared by the 500 Club, which gave essentially the same information (with different advertising).

As if that weren’t enough, a master of ceremonies read, almost word for word, the twice-printed performers’ profiles.

Five soloists appeared on the program. The most accomplished of these proved to be Walid Howrani, who delivered a compelling and heroic account of the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, bringing to his playing both clarity of line and driving passion.

While pianist Diana Takieddine played with gusto, her reading of the opening movement of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto was polluted by numerous technical errors and displayed little subtlety: Her playing is of the Storm and Bang school.

Guitarist Jad Azkoul offered a glib, characterless account of Vivaldi’s Concerto in D, while young conductor Joanna Nachef forcefully beat time. Before the concerto, the guitarist gave convincing readings of a pair of Villa-Lobos Preludes and Albeniz’s “Asturias.”

Mona Khoury, 15, impressed with facile technique and expressive power as she delivered Chopin’s “Fantaisie-Impromptu” with surprising poise.

Jamal A. Hosn’s “Symphonic Poem: 1983” is itself an example of superfluity. While emotionally charged and at times orchestrationally interesting, the 19-minute composition, heard in its revised form for the first time Saturday, has no coherent structure and seems to make the same statement over and over. Richman and the orchestra brought earnest and solid efforts to this reading.

Opening the program was UCLA professor Jihad Racy, who gave stunning performances on three Middle Eastern instruments: nay, buzuq and mijwiz.