Philharmonic performs flawlessly in final show of season

After presentation of a $35,000 check to the orchestra from the Philharmonic Guild, an extended invitation to join the Guild, and the showing of a video promoting the orchestra (memo to The Smith Center: practice lowering and raising the screen without thumps and bumps), the evening finally got under way with what most in the audience had come to hear: "Symphony No. 9 in E minor" by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak.

A solid crowd pleaser since its first performance in Carnegie Hall in 1893, Dvorak's paean to the America he so admired reflected his hope for, and belief in, the country in which he planned to make his home. Alas, that was not to be.

Despite the adoration of the American public, a mere three years after his arrival on American shores he could no longer overcome severe homesickness for his native land and returned, with his family, to his beloved Bohemia.

The symphony's first movement brought the orchestra's stellar horn section to the forefront where they shone, as they did throughout the evening.

String ensemble playing was a bit ragged for a time . That corrected itself and the second movement, featuring English hornist Mika Brunson, was exceptionally controlled and expressive.

The third movement was glorious; there's no other word for it. And the strings made up for their earlier apparent lack of enthusiasm with breathtakingly beautiful ensemble playing.

The solo clarinet assignment in the flawlessly played fourth movement was executed by Cory Tiffin.

Music Director David Itkin demonstrated total control of all musical elements, as has been his signature throughout recent seasons.

He continues to be the kind of conductor professionals like to play for: precise, clear and expressive.

Following intermission we heard Beethoven's festive overture, "Consecration of the House."

The piece was composed for the opening of the newly remodeled Theater in Josefstadt in Vienna in 1822 .

He chose the form of the so-called French overture often utilized by Georg Frederich Handel, among many others, a century earlier. The performance was sprightly and crisp with masterful dynamic control.

If the Beethoven work was festive, the evening's final offering was absolutely sparkling: Ottorino Respighi's "The Pines of Rome."

This is the second component of a trilogy that describes, in vivid tonal coloration, scenes and events representative of Rome in an earlier day.

Respighi employs a palette of spectacular range and subtlety. The fourth movement, "The Pines of the Appian Way," is nearly overwhelming in its power. For that movement Itkin took advantage of Reynolds Hall's increasingly apparent acoustical excellence by stationing an ensemble of brass players in one of its boxes. The resulting interplay with the orchestra and the brasses seated on stage was every bit as exciting as it was intended to be, and perhaps more so.

Other movements describe children at play in "The Pines of the Villa Borghese," somber shadowy moments in "Pines near a Catacomb," and a moody moonlit vision of "The Pines of the Janiculum" which concludes with the hushed song of a nightingale, leading to the exhilarating final movement .

Saturday's program was the last of the season for the Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra. A few short years ago, this was a good orchestra. Then it became a very good orchestra. Now it is the equal of many of the nation's better known and more active orchestras.

That is a remarkable feat since its rehearsal time is limited and irregular, its season consists of only five Masterworks concerts, three Pops evenings and a handful of youth concerts spread over eight months, and each concert is performed only once.

Keep up the progress, maestro. We are eager to hear what the fall season holds in store.