The peculiarities of the occasion: NCCO is a chamber orchestra, which never had a conductor. And, in order to include the younger Rattle, a clarinetist, in the concert, Father Rattle "was volunteered" to play the piano in the Mozart Kegelstatt Trio. Sasha's classmate, San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra concertmaster Owen Dalby, joined them, playing the viola.

The result was similar to what you hear at a fine school recital: everybody playing cautiously and with great regard to the others, all getting through the piece without anything seriously wrong. Rattle spent more time beaming proudly at the two youngsters than getting deeper into Mozart. He played the role of a teacher accompanying, supporting a student — a very nice thing to do, but not providing a performance on the same level with his conducting.

There is a curious possibility that five years from now, what one will remember from the performance of the trio is that the page-turner was NCCO violist Kurt Rohde, a most promising young composer. His role tonight might become a footnote to his future biography. As to Rattle, there is no hint of a career change about, so there is no reason to advise him to keep his day job. Fortunately for his listeners in the symphony hall, he will.

The concert opened and closed with wonderful high points. Elgar's Serenade for Strings conducted by Rattle was musically solid, emotionally ethereal. Eighteen musicians played as one, making the presence of the conductor an obvious asset, perhaps a necessity. Ditto for the closing Mozart Symphony No. 33, especially the outside movements, NCCO producing a sound I have never heard from them before.

What made the Elgar special was similar to what distinguishes Rattle's work with a "regular" orchestra: vivid colors, breathtaking precision, lines of melody surfing securely on top of perfectly-balanced harmonies.

The performance of Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht presented a more complex picture. This is the third time in two years NCCO has offered the work, but the first time with a conductor and unquestionably, this was not the same music heard with NCCO before. It was rather something very, very different in its liveliness, intensity, tempi . . . everything.

But was it consistently "better"? Not necessarily. The high points were higher, the low points of performance lower. The quiet, shimmering parts were exquisite (second-violin principal Candace Guirao a standout), but the manic rolling of the waves and powerful climaxes, driven by Rattle, overtaxed the musicians, and there went consistency and impact. It was obvious that Rattle was asking for more, but not getting it.

If you prefer your music reaching for the impossible, even if turning erratic or, at least, less than perfect, now and then, this was a "Transfigured Night" to treasure.

Rattle also left a few quirky ideas behind during his visit. He told an interviewer that the Berlin musicians are extremely individualistic, with multiple personalities, reminding him of "120 John Malkoviches."

At a rehearsal in San Francisco, he asked a musician for "less wasabe" in her tone. When she replied that she is fond of the spicy Japanese mustard, Rattle didn't miss a beat in retorting that "more rice" then would be advisable. Brizendine, who told the story, commented that "only in San Francisco" could Rattle carry on that conversation. That's not quite true. It would work well in Sapporo too . . . although not with the Argentine team.

(Janos Gereben, a regular contributor to www.sfcv.org, is arts editor of the Post Newspaper Group. His e-mail address is janos451@earthlink.net.)

©2002 Janos Gereben, all rights reserved