Chamber Society Explores the French Outer Limits

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music Society explored the realms of French music beyond the usual stops at Ravel, Debussy, Saint-Saens and Franck Monday night at the University of Judaism’s Gindi Auditorium. But after taking so much trouble with the itinerary, someone forgot to pack the performances.

Call them adequate, with one better than that. Poor instrumental balances clouded the music, off and on, all evening. One had to wonder about how much rehearsal time was put in in the hall. A small consideration, perhaps, but chamber music is in the details.

Pianist Paul Crossley, a holdover from the Philharmonic’s “Turangali^la” last week, joined oboist David Weiss and bassoonist David Breidenthal for Poulenc’s Trio (1926), a thoroughly cheerful and dashing work that the composer modeled on Haydn and Saint-Saens. The performance had plenty of vim and individual polish, though Crossley’s ringing presence often buried the bassoon.

It would be pleasant to report that the Quintet for Horn and Strings, Opus 6, No. 3 by horn virtuoso Louis-Francois Dauprat (1781-1868) was a find, but it wouldn’t be the truth. It’s strictly by the numbers. The work does have a horn part that cavorts all over the place, and a spiffy performance might have saved it. But hornist Robert Watt offered heft where finesse seemed called for, and the string contingent was hardly the model of elegance.

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Harmonically benign but contrapuntally thorny, Roussel’s Opus 40 Trio was a fascinating, acerbic puzzle in independent parts. The performers--Anne Diener, flute; Meredith Snow,viola; and Gloria Lum, cello--slugged it out solidly and rather bluntly.

Saving the day, Faure’s Piano Quartet No. 1 wound up the event in a sparkling performance, with Bing Wang, Ralph Fielding and Ronald Leonard the single-minded, exuberant strings, and Crossley the agile, poetic, though still too dominant pianist.