GLENDALE -- It is inevitable to remove the events of the past
                      two weeks from our lives. That doesn't mean that we succumb
                      to them. Every American has found a way to cope, to mourn, to
                      honor and to move on, and in a way, the "Symphony from the
                      New World" by Antonin Dvorak exemplifies all of the above.

                      Maestro Sidney Weiss, music director and conductor for the
                      Glendale Symphony Orchestra, had announced this piece long
                      ago as the season opener at the legendary Alex Theatre. He had
                      not counted on the meaning it would carry at this time.

                      If ever a piece of music speaks of America and its hopes, it is
                      this magnificent work that illustrates many of the emotions that
                      are being felt today. If ever an orchestra captured those
                      emotions, it was the Glendale on opening night. From the first
                      movement, which suggests the theme with horns and strings, to
                      the building of the second theme filled with echoes of native
                      American spirituals, there was a feeling of excitement in the
                      music.

                      The anticipation built as the woodwinds sang their melody while the 
                       strings methodically surged onward. Then when the maestro    

                      The rapid-fire violins personified the people moving quickly to
                       complete their task. The dynamic brass with their fortissimos echoed
                      industrial giants that will help in the rebuilding and the warm                                       richness of the cellos and basses were the anchor and stability
                      that assures success.
                       

                      The orchestra did not perform a work that was more than 100 years
                        old. 
                       It played a symphony of a triumphant future that lies ahead in the
                        new 
                       world.

                      The concert opened with an unscheduled Bach piece, "Air in G," and 
                       quickly followed by the short but lively Prelude to Act 1 from "La Traviata" 
                       by Verdi.

                      Mendelssohn was well served in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," which 
                      the orchestra performed convincingly.

                      As has become the custom, every concert features a solo performance and    
                      Marina Manukian, violinist extraordinaire, gave a wonderful rendition of 
                      Saint-Saenz "Introduction" and "Rondo Capriccioso."

                      Her virtuosity is exceeded only by her calmness and confidence, working     
                      through the intricacies with masterful grace and strength.

                           The Glendale Symphony has always been an
                      organization of somewhat ambiguous character, an odd mix
                      of grass-roots perspective and high ambition. Born out of the
                      community sing movement in 1923, it still retains a very
                      individual, small-town attitude toward orchestral business,
                      opening leisurely concerts with the national anthem and
                      speeches. 
                           But it is also very professionally staffed, and led with
                      amiably patrician authority by music director Sidney Weiss,
                      former concertmaster of big-time operations such as the
                      Chicago Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic,
                      among others. It launched its new three-concert season at
                      the Alex Theatre Friday evening with a robust lesson in
                      orchestral fundamentals. 
                           This year being the 250th anniversary of Bach's death,
                      Weiss began the program proper with the Second
                      "Brandenburg" Concerto. The roots of orchestral playing lie
                      in this sort of music, and Weiss allowed his full string
                      sections--smallish by symphonic standards--to tackle it in
                      the muscular fashion of a generation ago. Trumpeter David
                      Washburn made the most stylish contribution to the
                      otherwise unexceptional affair, with violinist Sarkis
                      Gyurgchyan, flutist Salpy Kerkonian and oboist Cathy Del
                      Russo the other solidly accomplished soloists. 
                           Mozart followed on the chronologically ordered agenda.
                      His "Linz" Symphony No. 36 emerged cleanly and without
                      fuss, but also without much sparkle or magic except in the
                      blithely athletic Menuetto. The more overtly dramatic
                      gestures of the "Don Giovanni" overture caught the more
                      active interest of Weiss and Co. in matters of dynamics and
                      accent. 
                           This attention to emphatic detail continued in Weiss'
                      sharply characterized account of the Symphony No. 1 by
                      Beethoven. His forthright interpretation, falling well within
                      expected parameters, was played with vigor and panache.
                      The sound and spirits were bright and the music-making
                      joyfully concentrated.