New conductor, last-minute soloist show mettle

ST. PETERSBURG -- There was no shortage of drama in Saturday's Florida Orchestra concert at Mahaffey Theater. First, there was the drama of soloist Cho-Liang Lin being called in at the 11th hour. Then there was the drama of a music director candidate, Russian conductor Pavel Kogan, making his debut in front of the orchestra.

And if that wasn't enough, there was the program itself, a study in dramatic contrasts, from a rousing orchestral excerpt from Wagnerian opera to the lyricism of the Brahms Violin Concerto to Mussorgsky's stroll through an art gallery, brilliantly orchestrated by Ravel.

Kogan brought some Slavic slam-bang style to the opener, Wagner's Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nurnburg. It was glorious indeed in the stirring C-major fanfares by brass and timpani, less so in intricate passages of violins and winds, which lacked precision. Still, the excitement the conductor generated set the tone for the evening.

As a candidate to succeed Jahja Ling, Kogan was out to make a strong impression, and he did. The musicians played well for him, to enthusiastic response from the audience.

Kogan, son of renowned violinist Leonid Kogan, is in his 13th season as music director of the Moscow State Symphony, which he led at Ruth Eckerd Hall in November, and has been principal guest conductor of the Utah Symphony since 1998. He also is being considered for music directorships of the Oregon Symphony and the Indianapolis Symphony.

Lin had his work cut out for him. The violinist was contacted Wednesday night to substitute for Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, who canceled because of a hand injury, and he came through with a marvelously poetic performance of the Brahms. He was notably effective in creating a dialogue with the orchestra, nicely realized in exchanges with flute, horn and clarinet in the adagio.

In a typically deft touch, there was close communication between Lin and Kogan as the soloist exited the big first-movement cadenza (by Joseph Joachim, the violinist for whom Brahms wrote the concerto) back into the main theme with seamless ease. Though Lin displayed a gleaming tone in the upper register, much of his playing had an introverted quality that made the concerto more satisfyingly personal than it can be in romantic readings.

The Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition is plainly one of Kogan's party pieces, and the performance was thrilling in its color and intensity. It was a virtual tour of the orchestra, with many fine solos, including Dwight Decker's euphonium play in Bydlo.

Kogan wound things up with an ear-splitting blast of brass and percussion in The Great Gate of Kiev.

Review

The Florida Orchestra repeats the program at 7:30 tonight at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $20-$38.

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