Hopeful Note From Guest Conductor

SAN DIEGO —  That American symphony orchestras are in trouble is no secret. An aging, declining audience base, dwindling government support and the weak economy only begin the litany of woes. But David Itkin, associate conductor of the Alabama Symphony and next week’s guest conductor with the San Diego Symphony’s SummerPops, believes there is still time to rescue the venerable institution.

“I don’t believe it’s a hopeless dinosaur,” Itkin said from his home in Birmingham. “Some of the ideas about protocol and programming are dinosaurs, but not the institution itself. The general public, by that I mean the general non-symphony-going public, is put off by the formality of symphony performance: our dress, sense of distance from the audience, and the rigidness of our program style. That we don’t speak to our audience is interpreted as a kind of non-communication.”

Itkin, who plans the Alabama Symphony’s pops series, conducts children’s concerts and takes the orchestra on tours to smaller cities outside of Birmingham, has learned the art of audience building firsthand.

“When I take a classical program on tour, I talk to the audience before some of the pieces. The audiences feel less snobbery when I do this, and they feel they have been brought into the musical family.”

Although Itkin and the Alabama Symphony abjure formal attire when performing outside of Birmingham, giving up that convention completely would sadden the 35-year-old conductor.

“After a tour, I love to get back to my tux. Personally, I’d hate to see it go.”

According to Itkin, pops programs are a fact of life for most American symphony orchestras, but they are not the panacea to current financial problems.

“We need to help audiences be a part of classical music--not to resort to all pops music as a quick solution to financial crises.”

Itkin’s assignment to design an all-French program for Wednesday’s SummerPops concert presented a particular challenge. Because of the outdoor acoustical conditions, Itkin decided to avoid music with extensive, soft passages. Since this is a typical aspect of French music, especially impressionist compositions, he had to look long and hard for upbeat selections.

“We won’t be doing Debussy’s ‘Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun’,” he noted.

Wednesday’s Gallic offerings include Berlioz’s “Roman Carnival” Overture, Saint-Saens’ Heroic March, Ravel’s “La Valse,” Offenbach’s Overture to “Orpheus in the Underworld” and the ubiquitous Ravel “Bolero.”

The threat of rain last Tuesday proved a blessing in disguise for the San Diego Youth Symphony. The 75-piece orchestra was scheduled to play a preview concert of its upcoming Italian tour program at Embarcadero Marina Park South, the SummerPops site on San Diego Bay. Conductor Louis Campiglia persuaded the San Diego Symphony management to switch the concert to Copley Symphony Hall, where the Youth Symphony played under considerably more favorable conditions.

Campiglia’s charges played Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony with considerable power and conviction, a true sense of Romantic phrasing, and a smattering of lyrical wind solos that would have made any conductor proud.

Guest soloist Frank Almond did not completely subdue the technical challenges of Sibelius’ formidable Violin Concerto, but the native San Diegan produced a mature, elegant sound and plumbed the soulful introspection of the concerto’s middle movement. Verdi’s Overture to “La Forza Del Destino,” an apt salute to the orchestra’s Italian hosts, opened the concert with exuberance and a fine demonstration of the ensemble’s discipline.

On the Youth Orchestra’s 19-day tour of Italy (July 22-Aug. 10), they will play concerts in seven cities, as well as a Mass at Florence’s 14th-Century duomo .

“We keep a rigorous schedule,” Campiglia explained, “and we rehearse every day we do not play a concert.”

According to Campiglia, the Youth Symphony tours every other year. His first priority is a sound musical experience for the young musicians, who range in age from 11 to 25.

“We always play at regular concert series or at professional music festivals so we will have good audiences,” he said. “When we played in Spain in 1990, for instance, wherever we went we had full houses. It’s really a thrill for the young musicians to play for a packed house.”

Among the extra-musical events Campiglia has planned are a visit to Cremona’s violin-making ateliers, an audience with Pope John Paul II, a tour of the La Scala opera house, and a pilgrimage to Toscanini’s grave in Milan.

One of the places the Youth Orchestra will perform is Campiglia, a village of 1,400 about 90 minutes south of Pisa. Although Campiglia’s family is not from that part of Italy--he is a second-generation Italian-American--Campiglia could not pass up playing in a village that bears his family name.

“We will perform in the town piazza, and they will stop all street traffic during our concert.”

The La Jolla Chamber Music Society has expanded its Young Artists of Excellence series and renamed it the Discovery Series. The 1992-93 Discovery Series, which includes four contrasting chamber music programs, will support each artist in a residency program at local schools and then present the artist in a formal Sherwood Auditorium concert on the final day of the residency.

Pianist Jeffrey Biegel, who opens the series Oct. 29-Nov. 1, made his New York recital debut in 1986 and has played with the National Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and New York’s Mainly Mozart Festival. Flutist Marina Piccinini, who made her local debut at last season’s La Jolla SummerFest and recently released her first solo recording, will appear Jan. 28-31.

Saxophonist Gary Louie who made his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra at age 18, will champion the classical aspects of his instrument Feb. 25-28. The Borromeo String Quartet, founded in 1989 by four Curtis Institute of Music students, won last year’s Young Concert Artists International Auditions and has performed in Tokyo, New York and Moscow. Their La Jolla dates are April 29-May 2.

CRITIC’S CHOICE

TAKE ME OUT

Civic Organist Robert Plimpton salutes the All-Star Game at 8 p.m. Monday--the night before the game--with a recital of baseball-inspired music on the mighty Spreckels Organ in Balboa Park. Plimpton promises “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and much, much more.