The Portland Symphony Orchestra gave a memorable concert on Nov. 11 at Merrill Auditorium. It was memorable in part because of the superb performances by the musicians themselves, but also because of the spectacular conducting by Robert Moody.

Things have reached a point that one now expects live performances that compare favorably to the best of recorded performances. It is inevitable that at one concert or another, this may not be the case. However, for this year, at any rate, it is not likely.

The concert began with the orchestra’s strings performing Bartok’s Rumanian Dances with beautiful solo work by concertmaster, Charles Dimick. In previous years, I have praised the orchestra’s cello, bass and viola sections, and done so with good reason. No matter how fine the rest of the personnel is, if these sections are found wanting, the orchestra is a poor one. Hello? It seems that the violins have played catch-up to the rest of their colleagues. I have taken notice of this change with joy, and if it wasn’t apparent only in the Bartok, it surely was in the Berlioz Symphony later in the program.

Maestro Moody conducted this work with artful phrasing, and delightful mini changes of tempi. The second work on the program was the Concerto for Wind for 7 Winds, Timpani and Strings by Frank Martin. The purpose behind this selection was to show off just how good the first desk members of the orchestra are. This obse

rver has noted this fact even though he failed to correctly credit the performer with the instrument ”“ John Boden, French horn ”“ in his last review. The soloists included: Lisa Hennessy, flute; Amanda Hardy, oboe; Thomas Parchman, clarinet; Janet Polk, bassoon; John Boden, horn; Joe Foley, trumpet; Nicholas Orovich, trombone; and John Tanzer timpani. This composition could be thought of as a 20th-century version of a concerto grosso with the solo winds and timpani acting as a kind of fixed solo group.

As for the music, I thought it was an amalgam of various other composers: Ravel (on steroids), Stravinsky, D’Indy, Prokofiev and Hindemith, to name a few. There may even be phrases by Martin in this mix. This complex score was given a fine reading by Moody, who brought out the elements in the score while allowing the soloists some leeway in playing their difficult parts.

The highlight of the concert was the performance of the Fantastic Symphony by Hector Berlioz, AKA the full employment practice piece for instrumentalists. To get to the point ”“ please pardon this observation ”“ I believe that the performance of the Fantastic was fantastic. One would have to look far and wide to find a more musical and dramatic realization of this score. Moody was all business from the start, and all of the orchestra was attentive and responsive to every gesture ”“ no detail being too small for his attention.

There were too many superlatives to mention here, but singled out are the violins the celli, bass and violas; the entire percussion section; Julianne Verret, English horn; all the solo winds; the entire brass section, and especially Don Rankin, tuba. Moody had the score in front on him, but essentially conducted by heart, putting down his baton for the slow movement, which was sensitively and lovingly performed. One must commend having oboist Hardy play her echo of the English horn phrases off stage, and the placing of the timpani on either side of the stage in the slow movement.

The last movement called for a virtuoso orchestra ”“ and conductor ”“ to bring it to life, and this is what occurred. Moody recognized the solo and sectional players, took a solo bow and then had the orchestra get their deserved recognition by themselves. A discussion of Berlioz or his approach to the symphony warrants a column all its own.

Bravo to Moody and PSO for a truly memorable concert. Judge for yourself: The concert will be broadcast on MPBN on Nov. 26 at 8 p.m.

— Dr. Gold is a composer/conductor and an arts reviewer for the Journal Tribune.