Music Reviews

Sep 19, 1999 - The Reno Chamber Orchestra's Hot and Cold Season Opener

By Jack Neal

As it begins its 26th year, there's something in the air for the Reno Chamber Orchestra that smacks at big change. When the orchestra launched its new season Saturday night (9/18/99) before a large, enthusiastic audience at Nightingale Concert Hall, the change of seasons wasn't just about the weather; it's was about the orchestra's major alterations for old habits.

The RCO's long-time resident conductor Vahe Khochayan was on the podium, but only for the concert's first half. Then Phillip Ruder took charge and the change of conductor wasn't just a change of pace; it was a change of color, dynamics, mood and aura. Dazzling local audiences with his impassioned violin work since he arrived here five years ago, Ruder - concertmaster for both the Reno Chamber Orchestra and the Reno Philharmonic - has added immeasureably to Reno's musical vitality. Making his local debut Saturday night as conductor of a professional orchestra, Ruder brought the same kind of zest to his artistry conducting Bloch's majestic Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra with Piano Obbligato (smartly managed by pianist Andrea Lenz) that he has consistenty brought to his work as a violin soloist.

Ruder's conducting is but the tip of the iceberg regarding change for the RCO. This season's concerts are loaded with an array of local soloists and conductors. No longer will Maestro Khochayan hold forth as the orchestra's single conductor, although he clearly remains the orchestra's principal one. As distinguished as Maestro Khochayan's stewardship with the orchestra has been, variety will serve as a revitalization for the orchestra. Khochayan has been the conductor of the RCO since its beginning. Not that long tenures for successful conductors are unheard of, Eugene Ormandy was at the helm of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra for over 40 years, but freshness of spirit and intriguing programming become more of a chore as time passes.

So it was to a mild extent with Saturday's concert. Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances are lovely pieces that wallow luxuriously in the past. Khochayan and the orchestra gave them their due with a lush, spongy rendition that worked well within the confines of the work's soft, curvaceous writing. The musical but non-specific conducting of Khochayan's played up the Respighi's penchant to shy from sharp edges. It's sophomoric to expect a symphony orchestra to always play with an ear hell-bent for precision, other things are important, but there was a certain vagueness, a rumpled feeling about the Respighi that should have been less rumpled and more spic-and-span and to the point. Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances came off like comfortable shoes: they felt good but were too ordinary to conjure up much excitement.

Ditto for Schubert's Rondo for Violin and String Orchestra with Ruder as violin soloist and Khochayan as conductor. Very nice, but a bit of a tug of war between Ruder's passion and Khochayan's aloofness. It would have been more fun to have had a more dramatic interplay between orchestra and soloist. Ruder plays brilliantly, but his dynamic playing needs balancing with vivid orchestral involvement. This is not meant as a strong criticism of Maestro Khochayan. There is an overriding musicality to his work that's been good for the orchestra and listenable for audiences. But Khochayan's is the kind of imprecise baton technique that works better with a full time orchestra. The parallel between Yehudi Menuhin's conducting of Great Britain's Royal Philharmonic at Davies Hall in San Francisco during the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations and Khochayan's conducting here is uncanny. The Royal Philharmonic was wonderfully musical, but with such a vague baton technician in charge how did it play with precision? The orchestra relied on Menuhin for its musicality and its concertmaster for precision, that's how. That kind of ensemble cohesiveness is regrettably impossible to achieve with the short rehearsal schedule, time off between concerts and the parade of changing personnel that's par for the course for the RCO.

In spite of those drawbacks, Ruder and the orchestra via the Bloch reached for the brass ring and got it. Modern sounding, pungently harmonic, classic in form, the Bloch is flamboyant, powerful and tremendously invigorating. If nothing else - and there is more, those are qualities Ruder brings to all he interprets, and in spades. The matching of conductor with music was, as they say in Hollywood, perfect casting. The orchestra rose to the occasion for a full-bodied, electrifying performance. Of special note: Violinist Ginny Tilton, who for years played principal viola with Reno's major orchestras, took over concertmaster duties when Ruder conducted. Ms. Tilton is a formidable violinist who played her solo moments impressively.

The Reno Chamber Orchestra's next concert, featuring the music of Telemann, Wolf-Ferrari (the Bassoon Concerto with bassoonist William Wood), Saint-Saens and Elgar (with in-house soloists and conductor), will be Saturday, November 6, at Nightingale Concert Hall, 900 North Virginia Street, Reno. For information call 775 348 9413 or visit their website at www.RenoChamberOrchestra.org