San Francisco Classical Voice

The San Francisco Sinfonietta, led by Swiss conductor and music director Urs Leonhardt Steiner, appeared at Julia Morgan Theater on Saturday in a program that promised innovation and imagination. Ultimately, the modest crowd of 50 people endured a program that was neither innovative nor imaginative. Steiner, whose previous professional conducting engagements include an amateur orchestra at the San Francisco Community Music Center and a middle school chorus at the Ada Clevenger School, delivered decidedly marginal performances of three Haydn Symphonies--Symphony No. 8, Le soir, Symphony No. 9, and Symphony No. 44, Trauer. The evening would have been a complete catastrophe had it not been for the graceful and confident performance by Lichin Zhong of Haydn's Piano Concerto in D major, which drew a deserved standing ovation.

Haydn's symphonies are not vehicles for grand, visionary statements. Performed with precision and uniformity of articulation, they become whimsical gems of 18th century classicism. Haydn's use of quick, rapidly rising scale passages and spiccato bow stroke demand a certain level of technical facility of the string players. Because of the relative transparency of the writing, this passage work is vital and demands perfection. To begin with, the evening's performance was marked by constant intonation problems in the violins.

The opening of Symphony No. 8, Allegro molto, set the tone for the entire evening. Haydn's scale passages were rendered with a disturbing lack of care, each member of the violin section playing slightly different pitches. The following Andante, with solo work from violinist Loretta Taylor, suffered from constant lapses in intonation and labored tone production.

Steiner conducted these Haydn performances with complete disregard for musical and historical conventions, performing without the oboes required by the score and without harpsichord continuo. However, the wind players made a welcome contribution and generally played with conviction. Principal horn Bob Satterford and principal flute Ruth Keys had some fine moments, interjecting color and textural variation.

The Concerto in D major, composed shortly before Haydn dashed off his beloved Paris Symphonies (Nos. 82-87) in 1784, is one of Haydn's most celebrated concerti and surely one of his finest. The evening's performance offered a glimpse of a young soloist on the move. Lichin Zhong was a winner of the Sergei Barsukov Scholarship for piano, which allowed her to complete her Masters Degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Mack McCray.

Zhong delivered Haydn's Concerto with grace and confidence, despite less than secure direction from Steiner. Her choice of tempi propelled the piece forward, and she made the most of dynamic contrasts, especially in the cadenza of the second movement. Here Zhong displayed maturity and remarkable control. She tossed off the final movement, rondo all'ungherese, with a light touch and reliable rhythmic integrity. It had all the Hungarian fire that Haydn could have wanted.

After intermission, Steiner and the Sinfonietta returned to their ways--playing without regard to intonation or detail. The Symphony No. 44, Trauer, opened with a blazing allegro con brio that pushed the edge of the orchestra's capability and bordered on absurd. To the ensemble's credit, it made a go of the tempo. However, the spiccato bow stroke was nearly inaudible because of the feverish pace of the movement.

The following menuetto, with its familiar trio section, was performed as though it were a waltz. Consequently, the movement felt off-balance and anxious. The finale, marked presto, offers some of Haydn's most exciting writing, full of dark intensity and passion. The opening theme with its heavily accented writing lacked the vigorousness and unanimity of attack.

(Benjamin Korn is a violinist and performs regularly with the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra. He also serves as Director of Development for the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra.)

©2000 Benjamin Korn, all rights reserved