MUSIC REVIEW : Southwest Chamber Plays at Chapman

Though the Southwest Chamber Music Society, under artistic director Jeff von der Schmidt, continually puts together programs representative of all periods, it pays particular attention to this century. Works by John Adams and Igor Stravinsky formed the second half of the group’s concert Thursday in Salmon Recital Hall at Chapman College.

Pianist Gloria Cheng delivered John Adams’ mesmerizing “Phrygian Gates” (1977) with security and a sprinkling of technical sparks, tracing the evolution of simple motives with contagious absorption. If she could not rescue the slow section of this minimalist work from inherent stagnation, she did at least reawaken interest with the powerful contrast that follows it.

Albert Dominguez joined Cheng for Stravinsky’s neoclassic Sonata for two pianos, a curious choice with which to end the evening. The duo offered a clean, well-balanced reading, satisfying the composer’s aesthetic during this period, but offering little more than tidy closure, a result echoed in the audience’s fidgeting.

Bach’s first suite for cello, in G, and Mozart’s “Kegelstatt” Trio, K. 498, had preceded intermission. Performed by Richard Treat, the suite emerged intelligent and intimate, though with limited range of dynamics and little variety in ornamentation. Especially in the Prelude, Treat echoed phrases as exact repeats.

Clarinetist Michael Grego, violist Jan Karlin and Dominguez engaged in spirited interplay for Mozart’s trio. With the piano lid down, Dominguez’s glistening tones were sometimes subsumed by less important viola passages. Nevertheless, the work survived elegantly, with Grego’s relaxed, lyrical approach imparting welcome contrast to the intensity of his partners.