MUSIC REVIEW : Not Exactly Salsa, but Symphony Performs with Panache

Music by only one composer from Spain figured on the generous program by the Pacific Symphony, at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Saturday night, yet the entirety was labeled “Espana!” No matter. The orchestra’s resourceful assistant conductor, Lucas Richman, led the proceedings--which included works by Gershwin, Bizet, Ginastera and Ravel--with strong conviction. If Manuel de Falla was the only Spaniard represented, the kaleidoscopic moods of Iberia certainly made an appearance. The bonus was that the playing of the Pacific ensemble came up to an acceptable, if not exactly punctilious, standard.

Pops programs may be the most demanding services symphonic musicians have to fulfill: They invariably involve more pieces than can be adequately prepared in already shortened rehearsal time, more styles in one gulp than wintertime programs require, and, in the end, more concentration and versatility on the parts of the players.

This one, however, made musical sense, moved along brightly and did not outwear its welcome. Richman built each half toward a potential peak: in the first, to Falla’s wondrous “Nights in the Gardens of Spain”; in the second, to Ravel’s ubiquitous “Bolero.”

In Falla’s masterpiece, the American conductor followed the model of Nelson Freire’s sculptured pianism and pertinent stylishness. Every statement, every phrase, indeed, every sixteenth-note of Freire’s reading spoke directly to the listener with a rare genuineness. And the Brazilian musician colored and shaped all parts of the score with myriad pianistic devices of touch and dynamics.

The other climactic moment in this performance, the famous “Bolero,” fared equally well; in Richman’s tight and well-gauged run-through, all solo lines emerged clarified and individual. The young conductor also brought panache and style to Gershwin’s “Cuban” Overture.

The rest of the program offered a suite from Bizet’s “Carmen” and the Dances from “Estancia” by Ginastera.

Official attendance: 6,900 (the amphitheatre can seat 15,000).