Watching Maestro Nicholas McGegan conduct, it’s easy to see why the San Francisco based Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra sounds so appealing and alive: he’s having such a blast, and his enthusiasm is contagious. Ostensibly a “period” ensemble, specializing in Baroque and early Romantic repertoire, they also transcend labels and play music of many styles with gusto. The program for their CAMA performance at the Granada February 5th was in the Vienna Classical camp, with the overture to “The Marriage of Figaro” by Mozart, who began the era as a kind of bridge from the late Baroque, Beethoven’s violin concerto Op. 61, with Schubert’s 6th Symphony closing the concert. Violinist Alana Youssefian more than ably stepped in for scheduled soloist Rachel Barton Pine and brought a somewhat different interpretation to Beethoven’s loveably recognizable concerto, at once sublime and punctuated by darker, grittier tones. McGegan, who has made numerous appearances in Santa Barbara with the Music Academy of the West, continues to be an exemplar of a joyous celebrator of “classical” music-making, a jolly and highly animated presence on the podium, and the PBO sounded much grander than their numbers would lead you to expect.
