MUSIC REVIEWS : Orange County Chamber Orchestra at Irvine Barclay

Twentieth-century repertory holds much that has proved problematic to audiences. But, on Monday night at Irvine Barclay Theatre, the Orange County Chamber Orchestra offered a program that held easy gratification in exchange for minimal listener taxation.

Although two of the composers represented--Bartok and Richard Strauss--are known for works that demand more savvy, Music Director Micah Levy opted for their conservative sides--folk idiom and romanticism.

Orchestral members began Bartok’s “Roumanian Folk Dances” with a sluggish “Joc Cu Bata,” but warmed to the increasingly lively vignettes with rousing energy. Along the way, principal violinist Diana Halprin unfolded her yearning line for a most affecting “Buciumeana.”

Strauss, whose music explores the excesses of two historical periods, planted his Second Horn Concerto firmly in late 19th-Century soil.

Jerry Folsom, a principal at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, rose to the challenge with abundant technical facility and impeccable intonation. Though he glossed over one or two notes in lightning-fast passages, most emerged as apparently effortless repartee between soloist and orchestra.

Nevertheless, Folsom could not match orchestral playfulness in the Rondo. He shone most brightly during long phrases best suited to his unflaggingly warm tone, excelling in sensitive give-and-take during the Andante, reveling in the more expansive sections of the closing Rondo.

Levy showcased the prowess of his string players with William Schuman’s Symphony for Strings.

For those intimidated by even the most innocuous works from their own century, Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony promised relief at the end of the evening. Unfortunately, after an exciting allegro con spirito, concentration seemed to lag; subsequent movements suffered from ragged entrances, cracked horn solos and sloppy violin parts, causing one to suspect that the bulk of rehearsal time had gone elsewhere.