Cambridge Civic Symphony

Victor Manusevitch's programming for the second concert of the Cambridge Civic Symphony Orchestra was highly imaginative, but the Orchestra's response to his direction was often disappointing, for one reason or another. In the Mozart Piano concerto (K 271, in E flat) the very excellence of the soloist, a young Frenchwoman named Eveylne Crochet, made the Orchestra's contribution seem rather weak. Mile. Crochet's reading, a compendium of elegant phrasing, effortless roulades, and delicious, unforced tone (for which the piano is probably due some credit) was the performance of a knowing, sensitive professional. But the Orchestra is only a good civic ensemble, and hazy string entrances or out-of-tune winds naturally suffer in the face of such suavity. Nevertheless, Mr. Manusevitch is a fine musician, and his accompaniment was tasteful, and appropriately reserved.

Schumann's Konzertstueck for four horns and orchestra, Op. 86, was another sort of problem, for while it was good to hear this interesting, energetic piece, it was plain that the supremely confident soloists required had not been found, the horn being a notoriously intractable beast. There was volume, but no dash, nor was the Orchestra able to warm to its part in the proceedings. Unhappily, the Brahms Tragic Overture also turned out in a pale, unsatisfying version. The opening was uncomfortably ponderous rather than massive, while the uncanny march towards the middle was revved up to a prosaic speed.

But at the program's opening the Orchestra showed of what standards it was capable in a brilliant reading of Haydn's superb La Passione, the symphony No.49 in F minor. Never for a moment lacking in inspiration, the symphony is a product of Haydn's thirties, a tempestuous, tragic utterance that ought to give new ideas about this composer to those unfamiliar with his early work. Played with vigor and affecting lyricism, it was the sort of performance Mr. Manusevitch can, and hopefully will give us in the spring concert, which includes a contemporary work and a Handel harp concerto. The Orchestra's shortcomings are primarily technical, and its purely musical potential is substantial indeed.