REVIEW: RON BIERMAN writes about three works concluding La Jolla Music Society’s 2025 SummerFest

Ron Bierman
Classical Music Daily

August 28, 2025

The La Jolla Music Society concluded its 2025 four-week SummerFest with three works for chamber-sized orchestras. The first was Starburst for String Orchestra by Grammy Award winner Jessie Montgomery, composer-in-residence for this year’s festival. At a little over three minutes, the work is the shortest of the several of her works performed at the festival.

It is an ideal ear-opening curtain raiser, energetic and freshly modern sounding without abandoning tonality. Melodic fragments evoke the feeling of sparkling stars appearing suddenly in a clear night sky or sun rays rippling off a lake on a beautiful summer day.

The appropriately bright performance was played briskly with accurate intonation, precision and warm string tones.

I remain hostile to the atonal and serial schools of composition. They undervalue melody and rely on an intellectual knowledge of form and music theory at the cost of emotional impact.

But textural innovations such as those offered by Montgomery are worth hearing, and she and many other contemporary composers no longer avoid melody or form that can be understood without a PhD in composition.

For those curious about why ‘avaunt’ isn’t always curse worthy, try The Pleasure of Modernist Music by Arved Ashby.

Mendelssohn: Concerto in D minor for violin, piano and string orchestra

No problem understanding and feeling emotion while listening to Mendelssohn. This concerto has been neglected. He was thirteen when he wrote it, and I am among the many who thought, ‘juvenile work, not worth a listen.’

While it won’t replace his more mature concertos, it is worth listening to, especially in a performance as enjoyable as that of violinist Benjamin Beilman and pianist Inon Barnatan. We may soon be hearing more of Beilman. He owns an immaculate technique and tone that varies to match moods from serenely romantic to ferocious.

Tempos were swift, and the many swaps of short melodies between piano and violin were executed with precision and an exchange of appreciative smiles between the soloists.

The Concerto’s melodies are obviously influenced by Classical era composers such as Mozart and Haydn, but the orchestration and catchy tunes shout the youthful energy and genius that four years later developed into the delights of Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Brahms: D-major Serenade

Brahms‘ original version of the serenade was a nonet for strings and winds in four movements. A year later he scored it for full orchestra in six movements, the version most often heard today. In the nonet the Adagio outlives the beauty of its melodies. I begin to long for the fuller, richer strings of the symphony-orchestra version. At over eleven minutes, the instrumentation seems monotonous underkill.

The nonet score by Brahms has been lost. Argentine conductor Jorge Rotter’s reconstruction was used for this performance. It captures the relaxed bucolic mood reminiscent of Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ symphony that dominates five movements. Brahms, like Beethoven, treasured his countryside walks.

The Linos Ensemble’s recording of the reconstruction was widely praised and won a Gramophone Critic’s Choice of the year in 2022. This concert’s performance topped it. Tempos were a shade brisker, the mood delightfully genial throughout.

The cheerful closing sixth movement brought smiles from musicians and audience members alike as the 2025 Summerfest season reached its end.

In his introduction to the concert, La Jolla Music Society President and CEO Todd Schultz announced that Inon Barnatan, SummerFest Music Director since 2019, had agreed to a new five-year contract. The announcement received a well-deserved ovation. Under his leadership, the 2025 SummerFest included an outstanding list of well-known performers including Renée Fleming, Alan Gilbert, Jessie Montgomery, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Alisa Weilerstein.

The La Jolla Music Society’s 2025 season continues. Notable performers include classical pianist Daniil Trifonov and jazz pianist Bill Charlap. Further information: theconrad.org