CAMA presented the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Granada in Santa Barbara on 1/28.
No matter how many times one attends a performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, it remains a staggering musical experience. This concert was the orchestra’s 144th appearance in Santa Barbara, and they delivered all the power, nuance, and excitement audiences have come to expect. Elim Chan is a thrilling presence on the podium, capable of eliciting extreme precision even at wild tempos. For example, in the opening movement of the Symphony No. 4 in A Major, “Italian,” Op. 90 of Felix Mendelssohn, Chan accelerated to escape velocity without the flutes losing any details of their wonderfully complex parts.
The concert began with Cloudlines, an appropriately atmospheric composition by Elizabeth Ogonek that started with long, thin lines before unleashing staccato statements from the brass punctuated by exotic percussion accents.