Saturday’s Atlanta Symphony Orchestra with guest conductor Jun Märkl seemed to get off to a rocky start. The first piece on the program was Berlioz’ Benvenuto Cellini Overture, which is a charming and colorful piece with which to start an evening of music. Unfortunately, the orchestra was a bit muddy, particularly at the beginning. I suspect that things might have come out better if Märkl had waited a few seconds to get everyone’s attention before cuing the performance’s start: he leapt upon the podium and began the piece nearly immediately, significantly faster than I’ve seen from any other conductor. It wasn’t terrible but it also wasn’t the best way to start the evening.
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