Amplifying Baroque Orchestra’s Success

The whole point of the period-instrument movement is, of course, to get as close as possible to the sound of the appointed historical era--be it Medieval, Baroque or Classical.

But these are different times. We must have our music outdoors in summer, played next to freeways. So violinist Gregory Maldonado bowed to the necessary evil Saturday night and brought his Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra to the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, placing the ensemble in a web of cables and microphones more suitable for rock than Bach.

In any event, it worked. The lively amplification, with added reverb, may not have been authentic to the period, but it did project the delicate sounds of the group--including solo recorders--in a warm, detailed and euphonious manner.

The program featured four of Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concertos (Nos. 3-6) and a flute concerto by son C.P.E. Bach as a kicker. The performances weren’t as tidy as they could be, but they were vibrant in rhythm, sure in pace and well in tune.

The “Brandenburg” Third blossomed. The transparency afforded by the period instruments along with the close-up miking allowed Bach’s complex argument--its ingenious trio of trios serving as soloists and accompanists simultaneously--to shine through.

The Sixth “Brandenburg,” with violists Peter Bucknell and Mark Zaki as robust soloists, fared well too.

Kim Pineda was the busy, versatile and amiable soloist in three concertos, on recorder and two different flutes. Best of all was the unfamiliar Flute Concerto in A minor by C.P.E. Bach, in the Sturm und Drang style--moody, nervous, biting--which sounded, in this vigorous performance, like a real find.