Music Review : Gelber Overpowers Pacific, ‘Emperor’ Concerto

It is Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, after all, not Liszt’s. But you wouldn’t have known it from Bruno-Leonardo Gelber’s thunderous, over-pedaled playing of the work with the Pacific Symphony under Carl St.Clair in a two-part program Wednesday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

To his dubious credit, the Argentine musician got the most sonorous and the loudest piano sound probably ever heard in Segerstrom Hall. Make that the loudest heard by one frequent visitor.

Even in his quieter moments, Gelber played with steely brightness and little flexibility or lyricism. Crescendos intended by the composer were swallowed up, Gelber’s dynamics having peaked long before. The pianist, who sometimes dropped notes or pedaled erratically, outpaced the orchestra on at least one occasion.

St.Clair did his best to hold body and soul together, which must have been a real chore.

Consider the opening of the second movement. St.Clair established a gentle, pastoral mood, which Gelber simply disregarded. The pianist played at a slower tempo, phrased his own idiosyncratic way and left conductor and the horns hovering endlessly in the transition to the final allegro.

Frequently, a concerto is a musical disquisition on the theme of the one and the many. But in this case the orchestra, despite its wider, bigger sound, really couldn’t compete, much less collaborate. Beethoven’s complex orchestration was reduced to mere rhythmic accompaniment.

After intermission, St.Clair introduced Strauss’ “Ein Heldenleben” with a short talk from the stage. Then he led a solid, rotund interpretation, undistinguished by any deep expressivity.

The conductor favored smoothly joined, rather than distinct, articulations and phrasings. So the composer’s soaring themes and climaxes tended to accumulate volume and power but not emotional meaning.

The orchestra, though ever improving, still painted with felt-tipped pens rather than engraving tools. Concertmaster Sheryl Staples played the prominent solo part with deft sweetness and poise, if not always with characterization.