By most measures, Pinchas Zukerman figures among music`s best bargains. As conductor, he exudes confidence and affability. As soloist-equally virtuosic on violin and viola-he justly deserves the praise and the celebrity. So, when Zukerman performs double duty, as he did at Ravinia Tuesday night, the audience is in for a treat.
The two Mozart works on the program confirmed, once again, that Zukerman has matured into a sensitive, if not yet first-rate, Mozartean. Under his collegial guidance, the Ravinia Festival Orchestra-a pickup ensemble consisting of Chicago Symphony Orchestra members and top free-lancers-gave a genial yet vigorous reading of the ”Marriage of Figaro” Overture.
The performance of Symphony No. 36 (”Linz”)-the first of Mozart`s great last symphonies-unfolded gracefully, tinged with just the right dose of melancholy. Zukerman`s and the orchestra`s attention to phrasing was most evident in the symphony`s slow movement. Its exquisite tenderness and exotic coloring came across vividly, deepened by the unusual inclusion of trumpets and drums. The rather leisurely overall pacing, however, weakened the thrust of the convivial minuet. It also snarled the impetuous gleefulness of the presto finale.
As befits a longtime champion of contemporary music, Zukerman included one recent composition, Chetro Ketl (1986) by Marc Neikrug, his frequent pianist sidekick. The title refers to an ancient Pueblo Indian village noted for its layout.
The 15-minute piece, an orchestral arrangement of a scene from the composer`s opera Los Alamos, is meant to re-create an Indian ceremony in which different groups perform separately before merging in a ritual dance.
Not surprisingly, the beat of the tom-tom provides the pulse of much of this music, which consists of alternating episodes of suspenseful ethereality and surging cymbal-crashing, drum-rolling climaxes.
In one striking section, energetically performed by the orchestra, a bravura brass chorale is accompanied by chugging strings.
Zukerman`s violin-playing on Vivaldi`s Four Seasons was sharp, limpid and versatile, effortlessly traversing the gamut of moods. The orchestra enthusiastically responded to his direction.
