CLASSICAL MUSIC : Mozart’s ‘Requiem’ to Sing Under John Nelson’s Baton

American conductor John Nelson is no Johnny-come-lately to the politics of Eastern Europe. Over the past decade, Nelson has been a frequent visitor to orchestra podiums behind the Iron Curtain. In a phone interview from New York, Nelson noted some of the changes he has observed since the demise of communist governments in Czechoslovakia and East Germany.

“In 1982, the first time I conducted in Prague, the musicians expressed their feelings in the way they played the music,” Nelson said. “They were wary about conversing with me, and the few who did always spoke in hushed tones so their conversation would not be overheard by some informant.”

When he conducted the Czech Philharmonic last month, however, he was besieged by talkative musicians.

“I must have had conversations with 30 to 40 players in the orchestra. And this time I was able to program Leonard Bernstein’s Dance Suite from ‘West Side Story,’ which the orchestra played with great relish. Under the previous regime, the Bernstein was not considered worthy orchestral repertory because of its connection with American popular music.”

On another occasion in Dresden, East Germany, when he was making his debut with Kurt Masur’s Stattskapelle , his conducting of Charles Ives’ Second Symphony won him a rousing standing ovation.

“The Symphony is pure Americana, full of allusions to American places, so I interpreted their response--including many shouts of ‘Bravo!’--as a gesture that embraced everything American, not just their immediate pleasure with the orchestra’s performance.”

Nelson makes his San Diego Symphony debut Thursday with an all-Mozart program that includes a complete performance of the “Requiem,” with the San Diego Master Chorale and guest soloists. The 48-year-old conductor, who was music director of the Indianapolis Symphony from 1977-87, is noted for his work with choirs. Later this year, he will conduct more than 1,000 voices in Vancouver’s first International Male Choral Festival, and he has been invited to conduct about 30,000 choristers in the Concert for Peace scheduled for 1991 in Estonia. Nelson, who is equally interested in opera, has served as music director of the Opera Theatre of St. Louis for the last 10 years.

Nelson’s immediate goal, however, is to secure a position with a European orchestra. His main reason for leaving Indianapolis, where he had significantly raised the profile of that respected regional orchestra, was to build a career in Europe.

“As an American artist, I felt a need to broaden my roots in the European traditions that have produced so much of the orchestral repertory. I’m not quite ready to become music director of a European orchestra, but I think that is a likely prospect in the next two to four years, and that excites me greatly.”

Nelson said he is working on a major recording contract that will improve his chances for a coveted post. A recent Nelson recording of orchestral music by Ellen Taafe Zwilich for New World Records won him the Toscanini award. An advocate of American music, he has conducted Zwilich’s music in the United States and Europe, where it was well-received.

Returning the favor. Earlier this month, the San Diego Men’s Chorus traveled to San Francisco to sing a joint concert with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. According to San Diego chorus director Gary Holt, the program at San Francisco’s First Congregational Church sold out the 1,200-seat sanctuary.

Saturday evening at the California Theatre downtown, the local ensemble will return the favor by hosting its sister chorus in a concert of works by Aaron Copland, Gustav Holst, Cole Porter and Cy Coleman.

Holt’s singers will present the local premiere of Minneapolis composer Craig Carnahan’s recent “Canticle I: O Weep Away the Stain.” The San Franciscans will sing an extended medley of Andrew Lloyd Webber tunes and will join the San Diego chorus in a suite of nautical songs, as well as Holly Near’s “Great Peace March.”

Dance score premiere. San Diego composer Mark Attebery’s new dance score, “Stan’s Retreat,” will be given its debut this weekend in the Malashock Dance and Company performances at La Jolla’s Sherwood Auditorium. Commissioned by choreographer Malashock, Attebery’s piece for three instrumentalists and a soprano is a blend of classical, jazz and ethnic influences, according to the composer. Another Attebery opus, “Departure of the Youngsters,” will also be performed on the dance program April 20-21.

Saturday in the park with Carl. Under the baton of Carl Hermanns, the San Diego Symphony will give a free concert in the Balboa Park organ pavilion Saturday at 2 p.m. Billed as a sampler of typical SummerPops offerings, Hermanns and company will play Bizet’s “Carmen” suite, Tchaikovsky’s “1812” overture, and a pair of Sousa marches. They will be joined by civic organist Robert Plimpton in Gigout’s “Grand Choeur Dialogue.”

Last chance. At noon Wednesday on the plaza in front of Civic Theatre, San Diego Opera will give its final free lunch-hour concert of the season. Members of the opera company’s “Die Zauberflote” cast will sing arias and selections from the light opera repertory.