Torrance Symphony

Dedicated followers of the Torrance Symphony who attended Saturday's concert at the James Armstrong Theatre in Torrance saw firsthand how boldly a conductor puts his thumbprint on an orchestra's performance.

Maestro Frank Fetta, the symphony's longtime regular conductor, had another obligation, and under dynamic guest conductor Mikael Avetisyan, artistic director and principal conductor of the Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra, our local orchestra sounded like an entirely different group of players.

From the very first trumpet calls in Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major, "Spring," composed in 1841, Avetisyan, a native of Armenia, infused the orchestra with an intense energy. His forceful and passionate conducting kept the players at the edge of their seats, while the audience pricked up its collective ear to the new sound.

Avetisyan kept his focus on strong contrasting dynamics with some graceful and stylish arching of the musical phrases.

Schumann's optimistic and pastoral "Spring Symphony" is beautiful, with joyful birdsong by the woodwinds and a youthful, dancelike final allegro animato with interesting dialogues between the sections. Despite a few frayed edges, the orchestra rose to the occasion. But, not surprisingly, a couple of musicians said after the concert that they missed Fetta's more relaxed approach.

In the melodic larghetto movement, reminiscent of the many lieder Schumann composed, Avetisyan put his baton aside, and his hands seemed to float in the air like airborne ballerinas, eliciting lyrical and gentle harmonies as if in anticipation of spring.

Two amazing soloists, both 2011 Young Artists Concerto Competition winners, provided more highlights.

First to take center stage was 17-year-old violinist Annelle Gregory, a San Diego native, in the virtuoso showpiece "Carmen Fantasie," composed in 1946 by German-American film composer Franz Waxman. The piece is based on the famous melodies from George Bizet's opera "Carmen" and is similar in technical difficulty to Pablo Sarasate's piece by the same title.

Gregory let out all the stops and dazzled the audience with her glides, double stops and incredibly fast finger work in her multiple cadenzas. She made the piece her own and played from memory.

Jung-Yeon Yim, a 21-year-old pianist from South Korea, concluded the concert with another colorful showpiece: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major by Sergei Prokofiev, first performed in Chicago in 1921 with Prokofiev at the piano. Already a professional, Yim handled the technical and rhythmical difficulties brilliantly.

The concerto starts with a haunting theme by the woodwinds followed by energetic strings, before the soloist enters with staccato passages and strong chords.

Castanets, or wooden "clappers," accented the beat, and Yim's hands hopped effortlessly up and down the keyboard like two little rabbits chasing each other, sometimes jumping over one another. In the vigorous scalelike passages and arpeggios, which sometimes created dissonant harmonies typical of 20th-century music, her fingers fluttered around like panicky butterflies.

But Yim also had a strong, sensuous feel for the dreamy and lyrical passages, and like Gregory, she played the whole piece without a score.

Torrance Symphony's next regular concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. June 18 at the same venue. It will feature violin soloist Alex Treger in Tyzen Hsiao's Violin Concerto. Tickets are $12.50.

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Torrance Symphony, under the baton of maestro Frank Fetta, honored its home city with "The Torrance Centennial Celebration" concert Saturday at the James Armstrong Theatre.

For the occasion, the orchestra secured a formidable young pianist, Beiyao Ji, a 2011 Young Artists Concerto Competition winner. He gave a dazzling performance of Rachmaninoff's challenging Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor. The piece, composed in 1909, starts innocently enough with a simple theme before the notes start to fly off the page.

The 21-year-old native of Sichuan, China, tackled the first few bars tentatively, so diametrically opposite of the aggressive technique of Vladimir Horowitz, who made this concerto famous. However, the young musician soon showed that he could match Horowitz's sturdy approach.

Rachmaninoff himself played this intense and at times emotional concerto at its premiere in New York, and at the time other pianists and critics dismissed it as unplayable.

Fortunately, some younger players are brave enough to face the challenge, and Ji skated through the piece with only minor slips, his fingers speeding through the virtuosic passages with intricate twirls and leaps. He made the music completely his own and played the entire concerto, which clocked in at about 43 minutes, from memory. At the end, without hesitation, the entire audience jumped to their feet in a standing ovation.

The orchestra stayed in the background, and few in the audience probably paid much attention as the players soldiered on in this very difficult work.

Ji's performance concluded the concert, for Fetta rightly saved the best for last; the audience's attention might, after all, have waned after such a brilliant show of talent.

Fetta warmed up the musicians with the Russian Dance from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite," sans Cossack dancers.

The orchestra, which appeared well-rehearsed, then segued into Czech composer Dvorak's melodic Symphony No. 9 in E minor. The "New World Symphony," composed while Dvorak visited the United States in the early 1890s, was first performed at Carnegie Hall in 1893. It is colored by sweeping prairies - the composer spent much of his time here in a small town in Iowa, where many Czech immigrants had settled. Native American dances and African-American spirituals also clearly influenced the composition.

It's a great symphony, and Fetta effectively kept his focus on the dynamics. Most memorable was the final allegro movement with English horns, trumpets and bassoons once more calling out the theme. A clarinet sound shined through with a short solo part, as did the flutes with a snippet of the ditty "Three Blind Mice."

In the final fiery bars, Fetta let out all the stops, and the orchestra was rewarded by rousing applause. One regular concertgoer commented that it was the orchestra's best performance in some time.

Torrance Symphony's next concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. March 10 at the same venue, featuring two Concerto Competition winners - pianist Jung-Yeon Yim and violinist Annelle Gregory - in Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Franz Waxman's "Carmen Fantasie."

Tickets for Torrance Symphony's regular concerts are $12.50. For information, call 310-373-2442 or go to the Torrance Symphony website.

Kari Sayers is a freelance writer based in Rancho Palos Verdes.

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Violinist Mayumi Kanagawa, 16, of Japan, has won the 26th annual Irving M. Klein International String Competition held June 4 and 5 on the campus of San Francisco State University.

Kanagawa takes home the Marvin T. Tepperman Memorial Prize, which includes $12,200 and performances with the Peninsula and Santa Cruz symphonies, and Noontime Concerts, among others. Kanagawa also won the $200 Allen and Susan Weiss Memorial Prize for the Best Performance of the Commissioned Work and the $500 Pablo Casals Prize for the best performance of the solo Bach work.

The Klein competition has helped boost the careers of such top soloists as David Requiro, Jennifer Koh, Mark Kosower, Vadim Gluzman, Alban Gerhardt, Wendy Warner, Frank Huang and François Salque.

“I rarely remember a presentation of such uniformly expressive and polished performances in our 26-year history, and with such a range of engaging musical personalities,” said Mitchell Sardou Klein, competition director, in a written statement. “Even so, 16-year-old violinist Mayumi Kanagawa received a strong first-ballot endorsement of the jury for the first prize. Her performances showed remarkably focused musical integrity, warmth and passion. The audience and the jury were equally moved and enthralled by her fervent and fiery playing.”

Kanagawa, a junior at the Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, is an academy student of Robert Lipsett and Arnold Steinhardt at Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles. She is the second consecutive student of Lipsett to win the Klein’s first prize—Francesca dePasquale won last year.

Her performances included movements from Beethoven’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23; Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77; Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001; and Elena Ruehr’s commissioned work, “Klein Suite.”

Second prize went to cellist Matthew Allen, 19, cello, who studies with Melissa Kraut and attends Cleveland Institute of Music. Third prize was awarded to violinist Ji-Won Song, 17, violin, who studies with Victor Danchenko and attends Curtis Institute of Music. And, in a tie, fourth prizes went to violinist Daniel Cho, 17, and cellist Mindy Park, 21.

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The Torrance Symphony took the stage for its third concert of the season Saturday at the James Armstrong Theatre, in a program intriguingly titled "March Musical Madness."

Despite the promise of "madness," the opening of Jean Baptiste Lully's "Roland Suite" seemed to speak more to the subtle baroque and classical styles to come. The suite's six movements represented selections from Lully's opera "Roland." A tragic opera, the mood of each movement seemed to build on the previous, from somber at the start to a mournfully passionate conclusion.

Although the suite was originally intended for a baroque orchestra typical of Lully's time, the symphony performed a version rescored later for a classical orchestra more characteristic of Haydn and Mozart. This provided a stylistic effect that was almost like a mesh between the two periods, and helped lead into the rest of the program.

Next up was Haydn's Symphony No. 92. As was common of the early classical symphonies (and Haydn is not called "Father of the Symphony" for nothing), No. 92 is shorter and more intimate than, for example, Beethoven's later compositions. Because of this, the work felt like a natural progression from Lully's suite, despite being a break from the more common overture-concerto-symphony concert structure.

The orchestra demonstrated impressive unity of rhythm and sound, and really seemed to understand and embrace the music. Particularly notable were the moments of sudden silence in the third movement; Haydn was known to try to use musical devices to trick or surprise his listener. They might have gone unnoticed, but under Maestro Frank Paul Fetta's baton, they were playfully performed and elicited almost a soft chuckle from the audience.

After intermission, the concert concluded with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20, joined by pianist Kyle Shafiee, an honorable mention recipient in the Torrance Symphony's Young Artists Concerto Competition.

A junior at USC, the young musician appeared to fit right in with the air of classical stateliness that had been built up in the first half. The music may have seemed very structured on its surface, but underneath it was full of feeling, making it clear why it was left for last.

The first movement, beginning in a weighty minor key, showcased the soloist's technical skill as well as the ability of Shafiee, Fetta and the orchestra to work as a single unit. Shafiee used dynamic contrast to great effect, and played with a conviction that made it look easy, yet not boastful. They continued into the slow movement, piano and orchestra smoothly trading the melody between them and acting as equals.

The concerto's final movement coursed with a wide array of emotions, from sweet to earnest to yearning, and provided a satisfying end to the piece and the night.

Though their furthest foray into "madness" might have been just a less traditional program order, the symphony's reduced size and the music's courtly atmosphere provided a pleasant and relaxing evening.

The Torrance Symphony's next performance, featuring Concerto Competition winners Mayumi Kanagawa, violin, and Jay Choi, piano, will be at 8 p.m. June 18 at the James Armstrong Theatre. The "Family Concert" program will include Brahms' Violin Concerto in D Major and the first movement of Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor.

Keila Huss is a freelance writer based in San Pedro.

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South Bay concertgoers were in for a surprising treat at the James Armstrong Theatre in Torrance Saturday night.

The occasion was a rare concert by the Torrance Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Frank Fetta, in collaboration with the Taiwanese United Fund. Dubbed "Taiwan Night Concert," the program featured lush nationalistic music by 73-year-old Taiwanese composer Tyzen Hsiao, who was in the audience despite poor health.

Every bit as nationalistic and heroic as music by Richard Wagner and Jean Sibelius, the Taiwanese pieces were surprisingly audience-friendly, with the fourth movement of "Requiem di Formosa (The Beautiful Land)" especially stirring. No wonder Hsiao was exiled by the ruling Chinese party.

Augmented by the Taiwanese United Choir conducted by Cliff Yang and featuring pianist Melody Kuo and soprano Jessica Chen, the orchestra blended beautifully with the singers, and Chen, whose solo work was first rate, sang with conviction.

During the encore of the unofficial Taiwanese national anthem, Hsiao, visibly moved, was brought on stage, and many Taiwanese concertgoers rose to their feet and sang along with the choir. It was an emotional and heartfelt moment. It is certainly understandable that this small nation of hard-working, smart and gracious people wants to control its own destiny.

To complement Hsiao's two pieces - the "1947 Overture" and the aforementioned fourth movement of "Requiem di Formosa" - Fetta chose two equally nationalistic European pieces.

The concert opened with Franz Liszt's symphonic poem "Les Preludes" (published in 1857), whose quiet and pastoral beginning gave the orchestra a chance to warm up before the horn calls and the rousing and triumphant ending. Like Wagner's music, it was a favorite of the German National Socialist party in the 1930s. Especially memorable were the buzzing string segments and the fine oboe cadenzas played by Linda Muggeridge.

The focus of the concert was on Hsiao and his music, yet some of the selections from Edvard Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite," written in 1875 as incidental music to his friend Henrik Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt," which opened the second half of the concert, were disappointing.

Like Hsiao's compositions in Taiwan, Grieg's music is at least as ingrained in the Norwegian mind-set as the national anthem itself, and Fetta generally set the tempo too fast. Grieg's music is very visual, and in "Morning Mood" there was no time to enjoy the glistening dew, the chirping birds and the purling brooks.

The tempo and style of "In the Hall of the Mountain King" were also off. This piece depicts the residence of the slow and lumbering giant trolls in the Dovre Mountains, where Grieg and Ibsen often hiked together.

The last selection, "Solveig's Song," in which Solveig sits outside her cabin waiting patiently for the wily Peer to return from his globe-trotting adventures, fared better and was beautifully executed - serene and smooth.

The symphony's next events are a 1950s-1960s musical revue, a fundraiser featuring The Wonderelles, Feb. 12 ; and the Concerto Competition for Young Artists March 26 and 27.

For more information, call 310-373-2442 or go to www.torrancesymphony.org.

Kari Sayers is a freelance writer based in Rancho Palos Verdes.

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It was the day after Christmas, and Eric Castro, a lawyer who also sings professionally, was warming up his baritone by running through trills and hums. After working hard right up to the holiday, wasn't he eager to have a day off?

"To tell you the truth, it's a complete pleasure and honor to do this," said Castro as he prepared to sing arias inside a crowded living room where "jam session" took on a whole new meaning.

Each Boxing Day since 1998, the Spanish Colonial Revival house at the end of a cul-de-sac off Los Feliz Boulevard has vibrated with the sounds of Handel's "Messiah," performed by as many as 125 choristers and orchestral musicians.

Many of them have sung professionally with the Los Angeles Opera, the Metropolitan Opera and other vaunted companies. Over the years, the violinists, violists, cellists, bassists and trumpeters have included members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony and other premier ensembles.

The hosts for the annual "Messiah" gathering are William Sloan, a urologist, violinist and amateur violin maker, and his wife, Judy, a Southwestern Law School professor, pianist and mezzo-soprano.

For this homegrown "Messiah," performers cram bow to brow inside the living room. All have volunteered their time and talents for the sheer delight of performing one of the world's masterworks without the pressure of moody audiences or critics.

"Messiah" sing-alongs are certainly common, but most performances usually take place in churches or concert halls.

"A 'Messiah' as a musical social event is unusual in music probably anywhere in the country," said Frank Fetta, the ponytailed music director and conductor of the Torrance Symphony, the Culver City Symphony Orchestra and other regional ensembles, who has for six years conducted the Sloans' "Messiah" happening. "This shows the great loyalty these musicians have to the Sloans and the great enjoyment musicians have doing this."

Here, every soloist is a star, and every one receives an ovation. They come for the kudos but also to pay tribute to the two longtime music patrons who provide the venue, the Steinway grand piano, stringed instruments from their vast collection of rare pieces, and several scores.

Peter Marsh, a senior lecturer of strings and harp at USC's Thornton School of Music and former first violinist for the Lenox Quartet, served this year as one of the concertmasters. Last year, he borrowed and played the "Sloaneri," the Guarneri-inspired nickname for the violin that William Sloan spent 18 months constructing of Bosnian maple. ("Making a violin," Sloan said, "is harder than surgery.")

Prescribing a little "dessert first," maestro Fetta asked the musicians to turn to the "Hallelujah!" chorus. And the 60 or so musicians launched into it with gusto.

The musicians who climb the curving tiled steps to the Sloans' living room in time for the 4 p.m. downbeat (make that 4:30) look forward to hours of performing and potluck dining during intermission. (This year the Sloans provided 9 pounds of lox and 14 dozen bagels, along with four cases of bottled water.) Once the final notes of "Messiah" have faded, the musicians sometimes adjourn to the downstairs music room to play Baroque music.

The house itself also has an illustrious musical pedigree.

It belonged for many years to Alexander Borisoff, the late Russia-born principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who converted the lower-level garage into a music room with a stage where virtuosos such as cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, violinists Jascha Heifetz and Nathan Milstein and even Albert Einstein played.

"The most spectacular use of that room was when the Emerson String Quartet played for Bill's 65th birthday four years ago," Judy Sloan said in a pre-"Messiah" interview one recent rainy afternoon.

In the bookshelves on one side of the music room are hundreds of books about musical instruments and music. Across from those are shelves filled with weighty tomes such as "Gray's Anatomy" and "Urologic Surgery."

The "Messiah" tradition started for the Sloans when they lived in Toledo, Ohio, from 1975 to 1991. Judy Sloan formed a madrigal group and at one point suggested a "Messiah" sing-along. As the Sloans' two daughters — also musical — grew, they would invite their friends. The high school choral teacher would conduct.

In 1993, the Sloans moved to Emerald Bay in Laguna Beach, where they met Louis Lebherz, a towering bass with the Los Angeles Opera.

When Lebherz's house burned in a massive fire that same year, he and his family moved in for a time with the Sloans.

"Louis and I had a 'Messiah' party, and it started again," Judy Sloan recalled. For years, Lebherz conducted and sang, booming out Handel's "The trumpet shall sound" aria. One year he brought Fetta, who would conduct whenever Lebherz sang. When Lebherz moved to Northern California, he handed the baton to Fetta, who has conducted for about six years.

It was music that brought the Sloans together in the first place. Judy Sloan, who was born in a small town near Macon, Ga., was a freshman on scholarship at the University of Chicago when she heard William playing violin. Having studied the instrument since he was a boy, the first-year medical student was assistant concertmaster for the university symphony.

"You play so beautifully," Judy Sloan recalled telling him. "Do you need an accompanist?" She has accompanied him as spouse and pianist for nearly 46 years.

The Sloans anticipate many new faces in the crowd this year — friends of friends and singers from local ensembles. Once someone has tasted his or her first "Messiah" party, the door is always open. "Once you're invited," Judy Sloan said, "it's a lifetime thing."

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