Chamber’s Stylish Bach Lacks Some Excitement

Buoyant and lively, the latest revival by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra of Bach’s six “Brandenburg” Concertos returned to UCLA’s Royce Hall on Friday night. Conducted from the harpsichord by music director Jeffrey Kahane, these performances represent a third generation of LACO personnel meeting the challenges of these pieces.

For the most part, the soloists, all members of the orchestra, accomplished a stylish, showy set of performances with the reduced ensemble. (In the sixth concerto, for instance, there were only eight players.) Yet, the playing was not consistently engrossing or immaculate. Nice, but resistible.

Refurbished Royce Hall now holds an audience of 1,800-plus people, but remains less than intimate; for all its improvements, it is not a flattering venue for a harpsichord. And the instrument on which Kahane played proved less assertive and vibrant than some others in this room.

As a result, a lot of the keyboard parts were delivered muffled, vague or inaudible.

Nor did Kahane--a front-rank musician and virtuoso when he plays the piano--fill the gap with personality or daring. He seemed unusually subdued throughout. Violinist Margaret Batjer and flutist David Shostac, Kahane’s solo partners in the fifth concerto, performed nobly and effortlessly, but the total still lacked excitement.

Most compelling of the set was No. 4, in which concertmaster Batjer, with flutists Shostac and Susan Greenberg, were the overt, thrill-making soloists. Similarly, solo trumpeter David Washburn achieved all the consistency and serenity anyone needs to conquer the myriad difficulties in No. 2. Among the other sprightly soloists were oboists Allan Vogel and Kimaree Gilad, hornists Richard Todd and Kristy McArthur Morrell, and violists Roland Kato and Victoria Miskolczy.

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Visually, the UCLA performance was controversial: The players dressed down and, to some eyes, out. Depending on one’s view, they were dressed Friday-casual, or rehearsal-ready, or Let’s Go to Vons.