MUSIC REVIEW : Mester Leads Mahler 7th in Pasadena

Experienced listeners go to Pasadena Symphony concerts these days with high expectations, and for good reason. That conductor Jorge Mester and his admirable ensemble didn’t live up to those expectations Saturday night at Pasadena Civic Auditorium was curious, especially since the music on hand was Mahler, something of a Mester specialty.

But the hour-and-22-minute, five-movement Seventh Symphony sat there before the ears, resolutely earthbound. Partially, this seemed a product of Mester’s approach, which lacked a distinctive point of view on the score. He strove for clarity of texture and lightness of execution and avoided soulful excesses.

In the absence of conductorial poetry, the bucolic Nachtmusik movements emerged merely amiable; in the absence of compelling Angst , the other movements sounded discursive, glittery and flittery and sometimes positively careless. A happy Mahler is only half a Mahler.

The Pasadena musicians, though, didn’t always seem to be giving the conductor what he asked for, at least in terms of degree. They executed his directions in miniature. Exaggeration and abandon, Mahler hallmarks, made few appearances. The violins sounded unable to achieve the lyrical arch and sheen required in several passages.

Not that what was achieved should be taken for granted. The usual, strong individual and ensemble playing was generally on view, and results were impressive in areas of balance, finesse and dynamics. Notable contributions were made by trumpeter Burnette Dillon, hornist James Thatcher (and the horn section en masse) and tenor hornist Ernest Carlson. We’ve just come to expect more from this group.