MUSIC REVIEW : S.D. Mozart Marathon a Real Winner

Now that the Mozart bicentennial is drawing to a close, music critics from the New York Times to National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” have intoned their litanies of discontent. Too much hype. No earthshaking musical discoveries. On the one hand, too much familiar Mozart programming, and on the other, too much attention to inconsequential serenades and perfunctory marches by the prolific Amadeus.

The San Diego Symphony’s 4 1/2-hour Mozart marathon Friday night, however, was a bicentennial event to make even curmudgeons happy. Music director Yoav Talmi’s contagious enthusiasm for Mozart’s music brought deserved and unaccustomed bravoes from the ample Copley Symphony Hall audience. During the three intermissions, hot food and rich desserts in the lobbies fortified the faithful, and it was kosher to sit out a selection to refresh both palate and ears. The event was relaxed and festive, a welcome alternative to the staid symphony rituals.

For the record, I purposely arrived an hour after the program began, lest my critical faculties begin to fade during the Requiem, which closed the marathon. I still was able to hear the Horn Concerto No. 3, K. 447, Symphony No. 29, Symphony No. 41 (“Jupiter”), and the Requiem--a generous portion of Mozart on any listener’s plate. I missed “A Musical Joke,” K. 522, the Bassoon Concerto, K. 191, and a miscellany of short choral pieces.

Nothing approached Symphony No. 29 in A Major for sheer tonal opulence and interpretive insight. Talmi selected a crew of 26 players, essentially a compact chamber orchestra, that imparted a sunny effervescence to the work and elegantly shaped its musical argument. The symphony’s resultant clarity was not due merely to the size of the ensemble but to the unity and precise focus of each section.

Principal horn John Lorge brought similar virtues to the E-flat Major Horn Concerto. His gentle attacks and deftly tapered phrases made the concerto sound effortless, which, given the vagaries of the horn, it surely is not. Lorge’s full, unblemished sonority generously filled the hall without resorting to the fat, blustery sound favored by contemporary horn players who believe Richard Strauss should have written the entire horn repertory.

The orchestra’s second shift, a larger ensemble of about 50 players, performed Symphony No. 41 and the Requiem. The familiar opening movement of the “Jupiter” sounded pedestrian in contrast to Symphony No. 29, but, once the new group warmed up, it also found its focus. Under Talmi’s detailed, authoritative direction, the slow second movement burned with the kind of spiritual intensity most conductors find only in the late Romantic composers.

Commencing the Mozart Requiem at 11:30 p.m. was hardly a dream assignment for the singers, but the San Diego Master Chorale rose to the occasion with cohesive fortes, fluent counterpoint and laudable declamation of the Latin text. Although it was not a definitive performance, Talmi and the orchestra conjured much of the score’s inherent drama, the torments of the Last Judgment and the contrasting pleas for mercy.

What this Requiem lacked was a sense of transcendence. For all of its textual precision, the Master Chorale settled for an overly generalized interpretation of the different movements. The fearful judgment of the “Rex tremendae,” for example, sounded exactly like the exuberant praise of the “Sanctus.” This is not an uncommon fault of today’s choral groups, now that few singers remember the liturgical context of a Latin Requiem Mass. But the performance of a sacred work that does not manifest its spiritual dimension leaves the listener strangely empty.

The Requiem’s uneven vocal quartet proved its least distinguished asset. Bass-baritone Michel Warren Bell’s secure low tones provided a splendid foundation, but he easily overpowered Bruce Johnson’s thin tenor. Of the soloists, mezzo-soprano Michele Henderson sounded the most confident, while soprano Kay Paschal foolishly covered her vocal line, depriving it of warmth and bloom.