MUSIC REVIEW : DePreist, Oregonians at the Bowl

It was hum-along night in earnest Thursday at the Hollywood Bowl. James DePreist and the Oregon Symphony turned to big-tune Rachmaninoff, with boldly sung performances of the Second Symphony and Second Piano Concertos.

The program, which closed the orchestra’s debut engagement at the Bowl, also was a testimonial to their studio activity. DePreist and his Oregonians recorded the Rachmaninoff symphony five years ago. This fall they will release a disc with Ronald Lo Presti’s “The Masks,” which served on this occasion as introductory fillip for the “Rachy II” orgy.

“The Masks,” from 1955, is a characteristic relic of the conservative American school at mid-century. In two short, contrasting movements, it broods robustly and bustles energetically in clear textures, fetchingly scored.

It does not, however, have a very distinctive character, at least as presented by DePreist and Co. Their performance was neat enough, but more expansive in sound than spirit.

That was definitely not the problem in the Rachmaninoff symphony. DePreist’s interpretation has more than a hint of mannerism about it now, particularly in the Adagio, but his studied rhetoric always works on behalf of generous sentiment. Though he takes some sensible and sensitive cuts in the sprawling score, he delivers its lyric sweep with no apologies.

He also enforced incisive attacks and crisp rhythms, most apparent in the splendidly bristling scherzo. His orchestra did not sound quite as tight as it does in their recording, but it provided much potent, pertinently focused sound both collectively and in a wealth of impressive solos.

The featured soloist, pianist Ilana Vered, did not fare so well in the concerto. She projected an often desperate bravado, constantly threatening to lose touch with DePreist’s willful accompaniment. She did supply the required sonic weight, but not the accuracy, in a necessarily gutsy reading that created tension for all the wrong reasons.

Attendance: 11,305.