DANCE AND MUSIC REVIEWS : Ben-Dor Shines in Santa Barbara

Eight down, one to go. As the penultimate candidate for the post of music director/conductor of the Santa Barbara Symphony, the young Boston-based conductor Gisele Ben-Dor showed formidable musical wares on Saturday at the Arlington Theatre.

Ben-Dor being the sole female candidate of the lot, cynical parties might cry “equal opportunity auditioning.” Suspicions of tokenism were quickly allayed this night, however, as Ben-Dor--who was born in Uruguay of Polish parents--dispatched both a firm sense of organization and an expressively flexible hand. Overall, she proved as strong as--if not stronger than--any candidate in the running thus far.

This evening, Ben-Dor performed impressive, intelligent feats, first by bringing minimalism--in the form of John Adams’ delightfully devious fox-trot variation, “The Chairman Dances”--to this generally contemporary-phobic organization. The concert then backslid through time, past Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto (1940), into the romantic bosom of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.

On paper, matching the objective machinery of America’s star minimalist with the rolling expressive landscape of Russian romanticism would seem problematic. To Ben-Dor’s credit, she made it all work, by balancing clarity with charisma throughout.

She worked up infectious appeal in the Adams and painted sweeping dynamic vistas in Tchaikovsky. Ever alert and efficient, Ben-Dor avoided turning the romantic score into gushing mush. French violinist Christophe Boulier, who made his United States debut in Santa Barbara four years ago, brought requisite virtuosic flourish to the Khachaturian.

In all, it was an evening of memorable music-making, and the standing ovation seemed more than just a rote ritual. Is it possible that the symphony has found the best person for the job?