CLASSICAL MUSIC

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra

Call your first concert of the season "Exhilaration," then begin and end it with the "Dies Irae" -- the famous melody of death and the Day of Judgment? What was the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra thinking?

Sheer sonic splendor must have been high on its list. The performance, on Saturday night at Schlesinger Concert Hall in Alexandria, opened with Liszt's "Totentanz," featuring pianist Carlos Rodriguez. Extracting huge sound from his instrument, Rodriguez seemed not so much to play the piano as attack it, pounding it into submission. It was a thrilling performance, with conductor Kim Allen Kluge and the orchestra providing enthusiastic backup. Rodriguez was not totally convincing in the work's one extended lyrical section, but this piece is mostly fireworks, and he set them all off.

The near-capacity crowd's thunderous applause brought Rodriguez back for a brief respite in the form of Liszt's nocturne "Liebestraum."

Debussy's familiar "La Mer" focused on the interplay of music and movement that Kluge said the orchestra will explore all season. Here, a few weaknesses in individual sections disappeared when everyone played together. The concluding "Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea," with its ominous opening and tension-filled buildup to the final storm, was especially effective.

Rachmaninoff's last composition, "Symphonic Dances," completed the program. Originally -- and perhaps more aptly -- called "Fantastic Dances," the work features some gloriously indulgent string themes, which sounded a bit diffuse. Faster sections were much more potent, and the final juxtaposition of the "Dies Irae" with a resurrection theme from the composer's "All-Night Vigil" made for a spectacular finish.

-- Mark J. Estren

Annapolis Symphony Orchestra

The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra kicked off its 47th season Friday night at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts with a program titled "Battle of the Titans." It took on three classics of the orchestral repertoire under the leadership of Music Director Jos¿-Luis Novo and, happily, proved to be more than equal to the challenge.

Soovin Kim joined the orchestra for Brahms's Violin Concerto in D. Kim paid special attention to the lyrical moments in the concerto, playing with a gorgeous hushed tone and a feel for the drama of an unfurling melody. The concerto's virtuoso passages, however, mostly fell flat, as Kim didn't seem as engaged with either the music or the orchestra. Apart from an unfortunate lapse in the oboe solo opening the slow movement, Novo and the ASO provided sensitive support.

In Beethoven's "Coriolan" Overture, the orchestra delivered big, rich slabs of tone that Novo shaped into dramatic paragraphs. And the ASO simply excelled in Bartok's demanding Concerto for Orchestra. Novo chose spacious tempos that emphasized the concerto's memorable melodies and vast array of tone colors. The ASO responded with a crackling, shining fugato from the horns in the first movement, snappy readings of the treacherous wind duos in the second movement (all dissonances finely calibrated), intense yet poised playing in the central elegy, and scintillating music from the strings in the finale. Novo's feeling for Bartok's arch form unified it all and gave this performance a sweep and power that were truly memorable.

-- Andrew Lindemann Malone