Finnish conductor in Pacific Symphony bow
Esa-Pekka Salonen isn’t the only Finn appearing on a Southland podium this weekend. Hannu Lintu made his debut as a guest conductor with the Pacific Symphony on Thursday night at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in a program they will repeat this evening.
Like Salonen, Lintu, 39, studied at the Sibelius Academy in the Finnish capital. He favors structural clarity and cohesion over exuberance. He shapes phrases with affection and spontaneity but keeps his finger on the pulse of the music and knows when to release its tensions.
Such authority was on display in Beethoven’s “Leonore” Overture No. 3. Lintu’s careful sculpting of the short introduction paid off when the overture moved into more dramatic and passionate realms. This was a fleet, economical and satisfying reading, featuring Barry Perkins’ arresting trumpet and Cynthia Ellis’ delicate flute.
The night’s centerpiece, Bohuslav Martinu’s Concerto for Two Pianos (1943), introduced duo pianists Aglika Genova and Liuben Dimitrov, a Bulgarian married couple.
The concerto is worthwhile Martinu, if not first-rate, with driving rhythms and a signature syncopated theme reworked through three movements. Textures were not always transparent amid the busy orchestral and piano writing. The middle-movement Adagio came off best, allowing Genova and Dimitrov to play off each other and displaying warm colorings from the symphony’s woodwinds.
After intermission, Lintu’s finely judged dynamics helped make Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 a performance to cherish. In the Allegro con brio, balances were well maintained, with Lintu ensuring that the decibel level remain comfortably within the hall’s temperamental acoustics. In the Adagio, Lintu subtly underlined darker corners in this largely sunny symphony. His controlled but energetic podium presence enlivened the rousing finale, in which poetry and power alternated within a shifting musical landscape.
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Pacific Symphony
Where: Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
When: 8 tonight
Price: $25 to $95
Contact: (714) 755-5799 or
www.pacificsymphony.org
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