The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra played a fine concert last night here on the campus of the University of Chicago.  The highlight came at the end of the first half with Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony No. 1 in E Major, Op. 9.  It's a difficult modern piece, but the orchestra turned in a fiery, passionate performance--excellent. 

   The second half opened with two world premieres, works by University of Chicago composition grad students.  Alex Berezowsky's "Celestrial Dance" is a short, wry piece that seemed centered on rhythmic ideas.  Jacob Banck's "Ruach," was longer and more developed.  It started out moody and atmospheric--something like Debussy as refracted through Takemitsu Toru--but then built up to a stirring climax. Like the first piece, percussion was prominent--including a piano.  Both pieces were received warmly by the audience, with each composer coming onto the stage to receive applause.

   The concert closed with the achingly beautiful Adagio from Mahler's unfinished Tenth Symphony, a work that I swear underwrites every James Bond movie soundtrack (take a listen if you don't believe me).  They used a new arrangement by the evening's conductor, Cliff Colnot, and played it well.  But it seemed that the evening's energy had already been spent on the earlier pieces.  The concert opened with Mozart's Concertone in C major for Two Violins, K. 190.