Music Reviews : Gross Leads the Santa Monica Season Opener

Look into the nooks and crannies of this city’s musical landscape and you’ll find community orchestras, some of them quite good. Sunday night at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium one such ensemble, the Santa Monica Symphony, opened its 1990-91 season under the baton of Allen Robert Gross.

Gross, who leads the Occidental-Caltech Symphony, is one of two conductors left over from last year’s auditions for music director. Presumably his two concerts this season serve as a second-round tryout for the still-vacant position. He proved a genial and attentive podium presence, instilling confidence and energy in his players with smiles and clear-cut gestures.

Although there were some rough edges apparent in the playing, they remained just that, edges to otherwise solid performances. The lack of technical polish--this group consists of a mixture of amateurs and professionals--never got in the way of the essence of the music.

Beethoven’s Second Symphony opened the concert, in a vigorous and dashing interpretation. Gross opted for steady, fastish tempos and light accents, lending understated nuance to phrasing with elegant left-hand motions. He coaxed an admirable forcefulness from his string section, and enthusiasm infused the entire reading.

In Stravinsky’s “Firebird” Suite, which concluded the concert, the orchestra impressively captured its kaleidoscopic color. Coupled with Gross’s lucid interpretation--its poised balances, solid rhythms and contrasted dynamics--the music spoke with a directness that didn’t slight its poetry.

In between came Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme with Philharmonic principal cellist Ronald Leonard as soloist. He brought his usual technical ease to the task, his singing tone capturing in full measure the playfulness and pointed lyricism of this score. The orchestra accompanied handily, with particularly sensitive work from the woodwind section.