Philharmonic conductor off to promising start

David Itkin, the new conductor and music director of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, made an impressive official debut Saturday. Before an almost full house, he demonstrated a vibrant, involved style while offering a program of bright, relatively familiar classics from the mid- and late-19th century.

Most classical conductors might offer the audience a smile or nod. Itkin provided those, plus brief but newsy explanations of each of the pieces prior to their performance. (In keeping with this, he's also taken over the pre-concert discussions from associate conductor Richard McGee.)

Though slight, Itkin fills the conductor's podium with grace and enthusiasm, coaxing and guiding with his baton, his left hand and often his entire upper body. Still, his gestures are somewhat restrained and always precise. He seems intense, but not given to theatrics, pacing himself and the musicians while drawing the orchestra into one of its best recent concerts.

The evening opened with a buoyant "Roman Carnival" by Hector Berlioz. It was a good selection for the orchestra to open the season: short yet involving all the orchestra's sections. And what's not to like about a piece that calls for two tambourines?

Felix Mendelssohn's "Concerto, violin, op. 64, E minor" followed, with featured performer Violinist Kiril Laskarov on violin. Laskarov, a native of Bulgaria and co-concertmaster of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, plays with style and emotion, but seems willing to let the violin do most of the talking. He had a good working rapport with the orchestra, and his skills were amply demonstrated with the quick-tempo, volatile conclusion, with more bow work in a few minutes than might be called for throughout an entire movement of a more languid selection.

After intermission, the orchestra returned with Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 2, op. 73, D major. The piece, complete with two movements in waltz time and an overall lightheartedness, remains easy to like. The orchestra made this an upbeat, successful completion of the evening.

Philharmonic audiences know that Itkin can guide the musicians through especially complex pieces, as he did during his audition concert in November. Under this new baton, a mix of the challenging with the more familiar could make for the best season yet.