O’Connor Fiddles With Classical Forms

Soloist Mark O’Connor received an enthusiastic ovation from 6,500-plus Pacific Symphony concert-goers Saturday night at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre for his explorations of the relationship between the fiddler and the classical violinist.

O’Connor’s folk-based nostalgia and jazzy showmanship pack a ready appeal for listeners, particularly those from a generation with spotty public school exposure to classical music who are eager to find some connection between pop music and the concert hall.

In his Fiddle Concerto No. 1, O’Connor grapples with the differences and commonalities between the country and jazz fiddler and the classical repertory. By the third movement, the only one performed here, the two have become indistinguishable, farming mutual ground in the jig, minimalism and the cadenza. Although O’Connor makes his point, his writing for orchestra is unsophisticated, sometimes superfluous. Nevertheless, the solo part--a vehicle for its composer--persuades through energy and logic. On this occasion, O’Connor’s Stephane Grappelli-style cadenza revived an improvisatory tradition long faded from classical circles.

In “Strings and Threads,” for violin and string orchestra, O’Connor transforms Celtic fiddle style into a rag, as he traces the influence of jazz idioms on folk music. Here, as in Jay Ungar’s “Ashokan Farewell,” the music is attractive for its frank sentimentality and simplicity--fine for an evening under the stars but not enough to sustain repeated hearings.

Assistant conductor Elizabeth Stoyanovich stepped in, on four days’ notice, to replace Richard Westerfield, who was waylaid by a back injury. Fortunately, she had time to rehearse the orchestra and had led Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” during previous work in Cincinnati. Here, her approach to that piece emphasized lush blends and romantic melody, without nods to bright, hard-edged contrasts. She also led the raucous opener, the “American Festival” overture by William Schuman, with rhythmic and contrapuntal clarity.