THE SEA COMES TO THE SYMPHONY
ROHNERT PARK, CA—Get a Frenchman back on the podium, and the fans line up to hear Debussy’s “La mer” (The Sea).
That exquisite century-old tone poem has you rocking in the swell and maybe reaching for a lifejacket. At seaside, you hear the waves crashing on rocks and sand, then receding having left just its sound and foam behind.
Debussy denied vehemently that he was an impressionist. Fine. But more than any one, Debussy’s master illusion lay in eliminating clear-cut beats and bar lines when delving into oceans, clouds and fog, and focusing on surge. And the up-and-down runs of the span of a fifth remind us of the rude danger lurking within the fickle sea.
The Santa Rosa Symphony and guest conductor Bruno Ferrandis conjured up a bit of Gallic magic after his years of absence, abetted by sterling play of horns, violins and cellos when heard Feb. 19 at the Green Center.
Music director here for 12 years till 2018, Ferrandis remains spidery-thin figure with demonstrative hands and fingers reaching to the wings to fine-tune various orchestral sections at once. Not mean, but certainly lean.
Debussy and Ferrandis saved an otherwise humdrum concert that hit its nadir in Philip Glass’ infinitely repetitious “The Canyon.” So far, no real life canyon has been heard claiming either ownership or inspiration for this curious opus.
Far more interesting were the two short languid, atmospheric works by the brilliant, short-lived Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), sister of the great teacher of composers Nadia B. Lili’s tone-painting in “Of a Sad Evening” and “Of a Spring Morning” conjured up exquisite pastel shades.
The South Bay’s gold-medal pianist Jon Nakamatsu projected the terse and sprightly G Major Piano Concerto by Maurice Ravel. After a colorless start he energized the terse, snappy finale with his jaunty nimble touch.
THAT FRENCH COASTAL FOG—When that 20th-century master of musical articulation Pierre Boulez came from Paris to the U.S. to conduct, he vowed that he would wipe away all that accumulated fog in French music. Whereupon Harold Schoenberg, the leading U.S. music critic, retorted, well, it’s that fog that I find so appealing!
SANTA ROSA SYMPHONY, under guest Bruno Ferrandis, Feb. 18-20 at the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA. For info: (707) 546-8742 or go online, www.srsymphony.org.
