Music Reviews : Orchestra of the 18th Century at Pavilion

For someone not enamored of the historical practice movement, the concert Monday by conductor Frans Bruggen and the Orchestra of the 18th Century at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion proved revelatory when focused at one end of the Classical period and steadfastly wrong-headed when pushed toward the other.

Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 (“Surprise”) revealed untold felicities. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, in contrast, proved a scrappy ordeal. Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, with soloist Eric Hoeprich playing a reconstructed basset clarinet, offered other kinds of problems.

Far from being embedded in amber when played by this 50-member, period instrument orchestra, Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony emerged with fetchingly transparent clarity, balance and proportion.

Bruggen kept the surprises--in addition to the namesake single percussion blast in the second movement--coming: Two more shocks in the Andante, the blurry, pastel string work allowing breathlessly soft pianissimos, the muted trio providing touching contrast to the sweeping peasant dance rhythms of the Minuet, the witty thematic twists and turns in the last movement, right up to and including the closing cadence.

But Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, composed 21 years and his own musical revolution later, emerged dry, patchy, ponderous and static.

The problem was that the anemic strings were invariably overwhelmed by the tonic-dominant fixated brass and timpani, with the result that critical details were lost or smeared. The figure-ground relationship reversed, and supporting chords received undue prominence at the expense of evolving themes and episodes.

If the Haydn Symphony emerged with an aura of vital contemporaneity, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto receded into the museum case. At these quick tempos and lack of subtlety, there was no autumnal wisdom or serenity here.

Hoeprich played with steadiness and evenness of breath, gently laying notes into phrases and overall exhibiting dexterous ability. But the instrument offered limited resources--few nuances and variety in color, and what sounded like only two levels of dynamic. Even his most sensitive playing did not prove heart-breaking.

Bruggen accompanied with consideration, but even with the orchestra reduced to about 25 players, still overshadowed the soloist on occasion.