The concept of offering a Beethoven Festival mid-season, following the barrage of Christmas celebrations and other December holiday confections, is a sound idea, if not particularly novel. I recall maestro David Atherton presenting a January-long Beethoven Festival in the early 1980s, shortly after he was appointed the San Diego Symphony’s Music Director. His fellow Brit John Lill was in residence to play all of the Beethoven piano concerti, as well as the complete cycle of Beethoven piano sonatas in a series of solo recitals.

The problem with Symphony Music Director Jahja Ling’s current—and significangtly less ambitious—Beethoven Festival is that it opened Friday (Jan. 9) with a particularly un-festive program at Copley Hall. It was arguably the least festive concert of this season, a casual succession of weaker Beethoven pieces given tepid performances.

Opening with the ”Triple” Concerto in C Major, Op. 65, was Ling’s first mistake. Even those (few souls) who admire this piece do not claim it is either dramatic or bold in the manner that characterizes so much of Beethoven's work. Ling's decidedly low-key stroll through this odd concerto for violin, cello and piano might have worked if he had programmed it between two flashier Beethoven selections, but as a festival-opener, this champagne toast had no fizz whatsoever.

Resident Concertmaster Jeff Thayer engaged amiably with guest cellist Carter Brey, the New York Philharmonic's principal cellist and frequent participant in the La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest concerts. Brey's solos, especially his soulful cantabile melody at the beginning of the second movement, offered a glimpse of the nobility and breadth that may be mined from this score with sufficient insight into its sonic recesses. Unfortunately, Brey's insight was not contagious. The third soloist, pianist Jessie Chang, proved a mixed blessing. In Beethoven's more fleet, cleanly-voiced Mozartean textures, her technique sparkled and her trills had that diamond-bright sheen. But when the composer called for bravura strength, her crashing chords seemed shallow and unconvincing. Chang, who is married to Ling, is probably a better soloist choice for a Mozart Festival.

Bringing some needed panache and vitality to the Copley Hall stage, the San Diego Master Chorale sang the "Choral Fantasy," Op. 80, with just the right combination of vigor and rhythmic discipline. The semi-chorus--the Chorale's more select, agile voices--produced a rich, gleaming sound that was closer to a bright opera chorus sound, and added welcome color and vitality to the Fantasy. Chang's lengthy piano solo in the Adagio exhibited the same strengths and drawbacks as her performance in the "Triple" Concerto.

In Beethoven's Symphony No. 1, the orchestra came into clearer focus and exhibited a more confident ownership of the style, a young Beethoven breaking out of the formal restraints of Haydn's symphonic master plan. But it was not until the final "Allegro molto" that the players actually caught fire and unleashed the "revolutionary" quality that program commentator Nuvi Mehta so eloquently praised in his verbal introduction to the piece.

In addition to the repeats of this concert, the Symphony continues its Beethoven Festival with a chamber recital Jan. 14 and a full orchestra concert Jan. 16-18, featuring pianist Anne-Marie McDermott.

PROGRAM HERE

ARTISTS' BIOS HERE