Music : Maestra Falletta Conducts Long Beach Symphony Opener

One tell-tale sign of JoAnn Falletta’s breakthrough status in the male-dominated world of conducting could be seen Saturday when the Long Beach Symphony opened its season at the Terrace Theater: a tuxedoed cameraman in the far stage corner training his CBS lens on her every move.

But Falletta, now wielding the baton for her second year in Long Beach, justifies the media attention. In a Bartok-Bruch-Tchaikovsky program of near-blockbusters, she proved a genuine podium master with considerable flair--notwithstanding the constraints of skirts.

Her agenda was slightly compromised, however, by having to begin with the Bruch Concerto--to which violinist Elmar Oliveira brought his seasoned artistry. Soulful without being indulgent, technically pristine, varied in timbral effects, his performance received always apt accompaniment.

The orchestra played with a plush, full-bodied, integrated sound right from the start. But for Bartok’s “Miraculous Mandarin” Suite, Falletta put it to a test of character. While few would mistake her account for Pierre Boulez’s, she did not shrink from the work’s graphic horror or seductive languor, working up the wonted propulsion and heat.

All went relatively well for Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. It had vigor, breadth, excitement and no surfeit of sentimentality. With her finely gauged rhythmic progressions, the conductor extracted musical depth from the orchestra. Unfortunately, the finale’s uptempo left some wind players in a scramble.