By Lyn Bronson

Almost a year after pianist Daniel Del Pino appeared with the Monterey Symphony as soloist in the Chopin F Minor Concerto (at which time he made a very favorable impression), he was back in the area this weekend as soloist in the Mendelssohn G Minor Piano Concerto with the Santa Cruz Symphony on Saturday evening at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium and on Sunday afternoon at the Mellow Center in Watsonville.

Del Pino is an exciting pianist. Not only does he have a dazzling virtuoso technique, but he can also create lovely lyrical lines, even in fast moving passages, as he did in the development section of the concerto’s first movement. He can also spin lots of magic, as he did in the concerto’s brief slow movement.

There was, however, some puzzling lack of clarity in the first movement and also in the Presto movement. I am not an expert on the subject of acoustics, but having heard the Santa Cruz Symphony in concerts both at Santa Cruz Civic and at the Mello Center, my impression is that the orchestra (and its soloists) sound better at Santa Cruz Civic. Therefore, I regret not having had the opportunity to hear Mr. Del Pino perform the same concerto the previous evening in Santa Cruz.

It is also possible that Del Pino’s extremely rapid tempos in fast movements may have contributed to passages lacking clarity. Although we know that Mendelssohn’s own personal style at the keyboard was all about elegance, refinement and clarity, this is not to say that a more vigorous and heavier style, such as we heard from Del Pino, wouldn’t be more appropriate for today’s larger orchestras and the standard Steinway concert grand that reached its final development in the 1880s and is more suited to the bolder concertos of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff than for the more restrained works of Chopin and Mendelssohn.

When we come to the matter of style, rules can be broken without necessarily diminishing the artistic impact. For example, consider Marlon Brando’s performance as Marc Antony in the 1953 filmed version of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” There was Brando standing on the steps of the Forum, with his thumbs hooked in the sash of his toga, (I could just imagine in my mind Roman citizens below him perched on Harley Davidsons), as he mumbled “Cassius is an honorable man. So are they all honorable men.” But the point was, that even though we weren’t hearing the superb diction of Laurence Olivier or John Gielgud, Brando was totally convincing and imposed his style on us with impressive authority.

And this is essentially what Del Pino ultimately achieved in his performance on Sunday afternoon. What at first seemed too loud, too fast and not in style, ultimately won us over. Somewhat like a trip on a high speed “bullet train,” it was occasionally difficult to see the scenery but it was a very thrilling ride. Responding to the audience’s enthusiastic applause and standing ovation, Del Pino played one encore: Chopin’s “Black Key” Etude. It also was dazzling.

Maestro Larry Granger, as is his custom, spoke briefly to the audience at the beginning of the concert to share with us a quick insight into the first work heard on the program, Schubert’s Overture in the Italian Style in C Major, D. 591 — that Schubert was attempting to write a popular overture, much in the same style of Rossini. That he did, but with his own personal style peeping out through the cracks. This was a work I had never heard before, and it was a very pleasant experience.

The largest work on the program was Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, and in this the orchestra sounded magnificent — lush strings, great woodwind and brass playing, and lots of passion. What more could you ask for?

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