Posted June 3, 2008 / Baltimore Sun
BSO's journey down 'Inca Trail' is enlightening
Tim Smith | Music

Not long into the new century, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra introduced a new
series designed to loosen up the concert-giving format (no white tie and tails, extra chat
from the stage), and entice a younger, hipper crowd with the prospect of live jazz and
martini bars in the lobby.
 
It sounded like a gimmick, and it looked like a gimmick because it was a gimmick. Not
that there's anything wrong with that.
 
Orchestras everywhere will try out new ways to improve box-office receipts and
demographics, and the BSO's Symphony With a Twist series is about as good an idea as
any others that have been floated around the country.
 
The only trouble was that BSO planners didn't seem to agree on exactly what the Twist
venture was meant to be, how to "brand" it (don't you hate that word?) so clearly and
distinctly that it could develop a strong identity and consistent appeal.
Sometimes, it was used to introduce unusual repertoire that cocktail-lubricated audiences
weren't necessarily craving. (Remember Tan Dun's Concerto for Water Percussion and
Orchestra?) Sometimes, it was used to offer fare that might just as easily be on a regular
classical series, or even a pops one. No wonder attendance fluctuated. 
 
But the Twist series remains part of the BSO's product line, and it remains as promising
as it was when it made its debut. Maybe the trick to fulfilling that promise is to come up
with more things like last weekend's Twist venture.
 
A big, happy crowd turned out Saturday night at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall for a
program called "The Inca Trail." It was one of the best Twist concerts I've attended,
marked by inventive programming and a lot of flair in the music-making, as well as a
mostly effective multimedia component. 
 
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, the Peruvian-born music director of the Fort Worth Symphony
from Texas, was the engaging tour guide. He conducted with a minimum of fuss and a
great deal of character through a hefty, enlightening sampling of Latin American
repertoire, and he drew consistently cohesive, stylish playing from the orchestra.
 
From a haunting arrangement of El Condor Pasa by Daniel Alomia Robles to a snazzy
assortment of such popular pieces as Granada (complemented by sultry dancers Rosa
Collantes and Jason Colacino), the program crackled with energy. 
 
This journey down the Inca Trail included some remarkable contemporary fare. Osvaldo
Golijov's Mariel, an elegy of darkly beautiful lyricism, provided a fine vehicle for
principal cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn, whose warm tone and eloquent phrasing reached the
heart of the score.