Dohnányi to the Fore

The San Francisco Symphony’s Chamber Music Series, offered most Sunday afternoons, is a dependable bet. There, members of the Symphony emerge as individuals from orchestral submersion and can be heard doing what they most like to do, as best they can. The players, not the Symphony, program it, so there is little or no Russian music, no Mahler, but rather music of fresh interest — as was the case last Sunday in Davies Symphony Hall.

Two works were probably West Coast premieres: Ernst von Dohnányi’s String Quartet No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 33, and Renate Rosenblatt’s arrangement of Beethoven’s Op. 18, No. 1 in F Major for string quartet and oboe. The Dohnányi alone was worth the price of admission, at least, for revealing the composer’s virtuosity, not in the sense of show-off music but in the necessity of its course, the urgency and deep humanity at its source: in a word,inspiration. The ideas are fresh and highly contrastive; the manner and even the late Romantic harmony are original.

Yes, a listener can hear an echo of Brahms and a Straussian turn of chords here and there, to the good, as well as a clear suggestion of Hungarian style in the last movement, the real thing. There’s a treasury, I would think, in Dohnányi’s substantial output, but who knew? Who knows?

As a complete musician, not simply a distinguished pianist and conductor, Dohnányi wrote brilliantly for strings; the first movement was intense, driven, and altogether engaging. The slow movement, a set of variations on a hymnlike theme, was beautiful, touching in fact, and the finale furious fun. Mark Volkert was a tower of strength leading the splendid performance, with Kelly Leon-Pearce as the second violin, Nancy Ellis, with her big, bold viola tone, and cellist David Goldblatt (of whom more in a moment).

William Bennett, the Symphony’s star principal oboe, was his graceful, cantabile self in the Beethoven arrangement, giving a lovely performance. The arrangement worked well, the lyricism of Beethoven’s first quartet being ideally suited to oboe lead, particularly in the gorgeous Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato. Rosenblatt’s strategy was to rest the supporting quartet’s first violinist (Raushan Akhmedyarova) when giving the oboe the lead, or to have her alternate phrases with the second (Amy Hiraga), or to find harmonic filler for one or the other.

Meanwhile, Wayne Roden played the viola part handsomely, and Goldblatt did a subtle and discreet turn on the cello that I found most welcome after having heard Joel Krosnick play in such a dominating, forward fashion with the Juilliard Quartet only a week before.

The Brahms Found Wanting

Alas, the Brahms Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36, which was a big draw, turned out to be a disappointment. The uncertain start with an intonation problem proved a forecast. The problems were leadership that was insufficient; balance; and want of an outside ear during rehearsal to guide organization of the delicate interplay in this beautiful piece. The second movement, a surprising gavotte with a Bohemian-tinged Trio, was nice, the variations movement pleasant but by no means its captivating self.

The players were violinists Chen Zhao, from whom half again more tone was wanted, and Amy Hiraga; Yun Jie Liu and Adam Smyla were the fine violists; and Peter Wyrick, who actually provided leadership strength from the first cello part, and the dependable, good Margaret Tait on second cello.

Beforehand and at the intermission’s end, the Symphony reminded all of its awesome presence with its Voice of God (actually, Goddess) “cell phones off, please” announcement over the humungous speaker system. It defies speculation why this cannot be done tastefully and respectfully at one third the volume or, as San Francisco Performances does so tactfully, by the placement onstage of an easel poster displaying a “no cell phone” icon, removed before the performance.