Music Reviews : Ima Concerts Begin in Hermosa Beach

The 1990-91 season of Ima Concerts quietly got under way Monday night at the Civic Theatre in Hermosa Beach with an intelligently rounded program. The musicians assembled for the event proved eminently sober in their approach, well mannered almost to a fault.

Not that there’s anything wrong with good manners. But the relative success or failure of each work depended on how well this ultra-civilized performing style melded with the music at hand. Low-key has its limitations.

The program started with the beginnings of the string quartet as we know it, Haydn’s masterful Opus 20, No. 2. The players--violinists Yoko Matsuda and Yuko Iwatani, violist Robert Dan, cellist Daniel Rothmuller--exhibited unity of purpose, offering a straightforward, soft-spoken account.

But rhythmic pointedness gave way to leisurely lyricism, as they underplayed the drama. In the second movement Capriccio, contrasting fortissimo unison passages had little sting. The rollicking contrapuntalism of the finale--admittedly, marked sotto voce --was subdued to the point of pointlessness. It all seemed a little too polite for Haydn.

This approach, however, well suited the vaporous palpitations of Ravel’s String Quartet. This performance didn’t drip with feeling, as so many do, but flutteringly suggested it.

The mellow tunefulness of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet also served as fit material for the group’s personality.

Clarinetist Michele Zukovsky revealed creamy tone and serene lyricism in the leading role; she whispered to make her points. The reading impressed through its gentle flow, its denial of harshness. And if the characterization proved warm, not glowing, the mood cheerful, not joyous, we were none the worse for the subtlety.