Music and Dance Reviews : 2 Concertos, 1 Soloist at Mozart Birthday Party

Thriving, extending its influence and still looking for a permanent home, the Orange County-based Mozart Camerata has entered the 1990s in an aura of promise. Some of that promise was delivered on at the ensemble’s latest Mozart birthday concert Friday night (the birthday was Saturday) in the squarish but acoustically pleasing sanctuary at St. Andrews’ Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach.

Ami Porat, founder of the Classical-size orchestra--on this occasion between 30 and 33 players--led a cumulatively engrossing program devoted to the Piano Concerto in E-flat, K. 271, the G-major Violin Concerto and the G-minor Symphony.

The conductor’s solid and unself-conscious readings again showed off the strong accomplishments of his ensemble, a group of first-rate instrumentalists who play as a unit and deliver stylish and energetic performances. Overall grace and intense detailing marked the playing of the Symphony No. 40, an unforgiving masterpiece here benignly and engagingly presented.

Corey Cerovsek, a 17-year-old Canadian musician currently completing his musical training at Indiana University, was the soloist in both concertos, a feat he produced easily and without gimmickry.

Cerovsek, who has said he considers himself more a fiddler than a pianist, did make the bigger impression in the violin concerto, wherein his fluent technique and handsome tone served the familiar work well. Yet his pianism also proved extraordinary in achievement and musicality. The young performer’s sense of style is neither impeccable nor particularly pointed, but he made a convincing case in his advocacy of both works.

Perhaps tellingly, Cerovsek’s best moments came in the cadenzas of the concertos, where his strong personality and thorough artistry shone through, even in the most anachronistic passages.

Porat and the orchestra provided transparent and firm collaborations in both works. A sizable audience, which seemed to overflow the large church, responded with appropriate enthusiasm.