Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra makes grand debut

The newly formed Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra learned something over the weekend: If you play it, they will come.

The orchestra made its debut Saturday night to a sold-out crowd of 750 at the First Baptist Church of Glendale.

Under the baton of artistic director and principal conductor Mikael Avetisyan, the  musicians performed a two-hour concert, which included compositions by Bach and Karl Jenkins.  

The young orchestra consists of 20 musicians, mostly from the Los Angeles area. The plan is to expand as the orchestra attracts followers and secures more funds.

Its next concert is in March; the program will include Italian composer Archangelo Corelli's "Suite for Strings" and Bizet-Shchedrin's Carmen Suite.

--Yvonne Villarreal

Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra. First Baptist Church of Glendale, 209 N. Louise St.; 7:30 p.m. March 6.  $15- $50. (323) 663 3601 or http://www.glendalephilharmonic.com/

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Photo: Musicians from the Glendale Philharmonic during practice. Credit: Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times

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Comments

[Richard Adams]

This new orchestra has a very long way to go. The concert was highly mediocre and the audience was underwhelmed. It was kind of like being at a high school music concert.

[David Patrick Pabian]

Review of the Inaugural Concert: The Glendale Philharmonic is a hopeful name for what, at least at this stage, is actually a chamber string orchestra (with timpani for the last selection of its inaugural concert). The 20-piece orchestra is generally excellent, with fine string work and polished playing, especially from cello soloists Maksim Velichkin and Ruslan Biryukov. Concertmaster Limor Toren-Immermann set the tone (literally) with confidence, deft professionalism and beautiful playing throughout the evening. The only regretful elements of the debut concert were the silly grading options on the printed program insert (although this reviewer took advantage of the general comments section) and the somewhat egotistical (the audience was even informed of the speaker's upcoming birthday) and barely audible, although miked, longwinded speeches before the concert, and before each piece, by cellist Ruislan Biryukov, one of the philharmonic's founders. Mr. Biryukov seems to have a fairly high opinion of himself, and was oblivious to much audience discomfort and the noticeable squirming of the orchestra's players during his overly "humble" harangues. When he came on to perform Andrey Rubtsov's "Two pieces for two cellos and string orchestra," I swear he indicated to conductor Maiael Avetisyan his readiness to proceed, and several times during the piece gave the impression, through body language if nothing else, that the music was more at his service than the other way around. Still, he played beautifully and one hopes he'll eventually learn to curb his enthusiasm for himself and let his music speak for him. His co-cellist, Maksim Velichkin, retained his dignity and played with introspection and a profound sense of the excellent architecture of the piece. Pure musicianship, not flash, was what Mr. Velichkin projected, not only in the dual cello piece, but throughout the concert. Soprano Marine Abrahamyah-Abdasho exhibited some mid-register weakness, but effectively conveyed the pretty but vapid and inconsequential "Aria-Vocalise" by Arno Babadjanian. Karl Jenkins' "Concerto Grosso, 'Palladio'" was wonderfully maneuvered as was the final piece of the evening, "Edvard Marzoyan's "Symphony for String Orchestra and Timpani," featuring thrilling drumwork by timpanist Artashes Sinanyan, who shows beyond a doubt that he knows exactly what he's doing and how a real musician does it. Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Mikael Avetisyan kept all together, even putting up with much between-movement applause, with good grace, solid professionalism, and obvious passion for the art he serves so well. The reservations stated above aside, the Philharmonic, if not its self-appointed spokesman, deserves many more hearings.