ROHNERT PARK, CA—Composer Matt Browne will hate me for this, but I’m lavishing all my superlatives on his “Ephemera” finale of his new Symphony No. 1.

His deft segment portraying the aftermath and total abandonment of a collapsed empire is a testament of total tranquility, tickling the ear tantalizingly with pearly droplets: a strum on a harp, a discreet lozenge from the piano, select notes on a vibraphone, and the viola section (so often taken for granted) waxing from the heart, all by itself. The subtlety inexorably absorbs the listener.

This iridescent beauty in “Ephemera” is as rare as it is unique, a priceless instrumental porcelain that whispers softly to be displayed and preserved in velvet. Yes indeed, pearls can be falling from the sky. Many composers can produce great cadences or thunderous finales, but who ever dares to understate his musical poetry with footnote-sized sonic droplets?

“Yes, (this) is much harder to play,” Browne conceded. “But they really nailed it,” referring to the Santa Rosa Symphony at the world premiere. Meriting citation for “Ephemera” were the principals on harp (Dan Levitan), piano (Kymry Esainko) and vibraphone (Allen Biggs), and certainly Music Director Francesco Lecce-Chong, taking his audience into this stunning glowworm cave.

The rest of Browne’s 39-minute, five-movement world premiere was more predictable, many of its textures somewhere between 20^th-century music of Morton Gould and Ferde Grofé, with some quotes of early American tunes and fife-and-drum corps in the manner of Charles Ives. Browne starts with a scene of early hunter-gatherers, ascends with ardor to the glorious height of the empire, then comes crashing down chaotically with choice dissonances. All in all, it’s a grand but very inconsistent musical statement.

The didactic model for the symphony was a set of paintings: Thomas Cole’s “The Course of Empire,” created two centuries ago. One would hope that it depicted the rise and fall of past nation-states like Rome, and not foreshadowing the ultimate decline of any country we’re familiar with nowadays!

Kudos to the Santa Rosans and to Lecce-Chong for this demanding set of commissions pairing with other orchestras, in which Vermonter Browne, 31, is but the first of four “unknowns” being tapped to produce their First Symphonies. Browne attended and took bows.

The co-attraction heard Feb. 8 was what is often cited as the most difficult piano concerto in all the repertoire: Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, familiarly referred to as “Rach 3.” This brought on the indefatigable Russian-American artist Natasha Paremski, who despite a slender frame managed all the power and velocity to carry off this heavily chordal tour de force (and no wrong notes at all discernible). What challenge is still unfulfilled——her pulling the grand piano off the stage alone, using only fingertips? Especially impressive was her 1^st-movement cadenza, a lengthy solo with sonic lightning strikes.

Could be the toughest concerto, but it’s not the most original. The opening theme on piano octaves is a quotation of an old Russian orthodox hymn.

The orchestra has come into its own with the new Weill Hall a few miles from home and with the new self-effacing leader Lecce-Chong, who has brought new dimensions and stimulating visions to this group.

The concert had opened with Beethoven’s skillful condensation of an entire opera, the “Leonore Overture No. 3,” where the trumpet calls for the hero’s salvation from the dungeon were perfectly made by Scott Macomber, stationed in the far-off hall of the upper balcony.

Santa Rosa Symphony with world premiere of Matt Browne’s Symphony No. 1, “The Course of Empire,” Francesco Lecce-Chong music director. Weill Hall, Sonoma State Univ., Rohnert Park, CA, Feb. 8-10. For SRS info, call (707) 546-8742 or go online: www.srsymphony.org.

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