MUSIC REVIEW : Haydn Orchestra Plays Program of Rossini, Beethoven and Mozart

Sometimes the best things come in less conspicuous packages.

Thursday night at McGaugh School Auditorium in Seal Beach, Alan Parker conducted the 29-member Haydn Orchestra in an ambitious program that consisted of Beethoven’s light-in-character but difficult-to-perform Symphony No. 8, Mozart’s boyish but virtuosic Violin Concerto No. 5, and a popular short opener, Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri” Overture.

And for this penultimate concert of the 15th annual Seal Beach Chamber Music Festival, it was the modest Rossini overture that shone above the rest.

The winds supplied crisp articulation, the strings phrased each passage with lucidity, and Parker led with careful attention to detail.

Each of the players revealed his or her expertise with confidence and extraordinary control, resulting in a clean, satisfying performance. During the Beethoven, the ensemble bravely met the challenges presented by the many intricacies and eccentricities of the score. In taking all the repeats, Parker managed to make the pace fresh and vital.

Overall, it was a successful performance, but there were a few scattered lapses in focus that led to shortcomings in accuracy. There also was less brio than is usually associated with the piece, although the ensemble’s gentler approach worked nonetheless.

The auditorium demonstrated its unflattering dryness throughout. This problem didn’t faze the players, which is all the more to their credit, as a chamber orchestra playing a Beethoven symphony offers an easy opportunity to expose any untidiness.

Concertmaster Jean Hugo was soloist for the Mozart. Her performance, if a bit stiff at times (perhaps because of nervousness) was nonetheless engaging.