MUSIC REVIEW : Silver, Lindroth Premieres at Japan America Theatre

Fresh hope, the kind of optimism associated with the advent of spring, rose again at the latest event by the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s New Music Group Monday night at Japan America Theatre.

And, appropriately on the eve of a change of seasons, that optimism was not misplaced Monday.

Five works by North American composers, works dating from 1974 to 1990, were heard, three of them utilizing instrumental ensembles numbering over 20 players. And all five gave pleasure.

Most engaging was the piece receiving its world premiere performance, Sheila Silver’s “Dance of Wild Angels,” a 17-minute, tuneful, motif-laden work of easy and old-fashioned accessibility.

Closer inspection, i.e., further hearings, may reveal esoteric or crafty inner goings on in this composition; a first encounter gleaned surface charms hard to resist. David Alan Miller led 21 well-employed players.

At one-third the length of Silver’s piece, and using only half the players, Lindroth’s “Stomp” (1988) accomplishes similar fascination. It is a work of apparent perpetual motion, moving along steadily and sometimes irritatingly. At times it becomes noisy; at no time is it not percussive and colored by seeming belligerence. But it stops short of causing hostility in the listener. Jacob Druckman, the other conductor on this program, led a punchy performance.

Druckman’s own “Lamia,” a dramatic essay for singer and a large body of instruments, ended this program in an energetic, compulsive manner. Mixing texts--words dealing with witchcraft--in several languages, the 19-minute piece boldly describes a world of magic and incantation in a rich musical vocabulary. Mezzo-soprano Nancy Assaf was the assured soloist.

With the composer present, Michael Daugherty’s “Snap!” a pops-derived, eclectic confection of real complexity yet simple profile, opened the evening in a hyperactive way.

The small item here, Rand Steiger’s “ReSonata” for cello and piano, did not suffer in this company. Merely eight minutes in length, it represents one part of a projected, three-movement work. If the rest turns out this tight and compelling, the total will command attention. Cellist Gloria Lum and pianist Gloria Cheng were the authoritative protagonists.