Yuri Temirkanov

When Alexander Toradze arrived in town last week to perform with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, he had more on his mind than playing Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3. He was also thinking about two occasions when Yuri Temirkanov came to his rescue. "I want people here to know what kind of man Yuri is," the pianist said in his dressing room after a rehearsal. "They may see him only as a great conductor." Temirkanov, a fellow Russian, is the BSO's new music director. The two men have known each other for many years and have developed a strong, mutual respect.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's new music director, Yuri Temirkanov, is finally back on the podium after an absence of several months (the curse of modern day, jet-setting conductors), and the wait has been worth it. Last evening at Meyerhoff Hall, he offered a meaty program that found him in penetrating form. The concert opened with one of the most indelible works of American music, "The Unanswered Question" by Charles Ives. Dating from 1906, the piece sounds as fresh and challenging as almost anything written since.

Mama Fest From jazz and blues to gospel, zydeco, reggae and roots rhythms, there will be music to everyone's liking tomorrow and Saturday at the second annual "Mid-Atlantic Music and Arts Festival: Mama Fest 2000" at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. The lineup includes Merl Saunders & His Funky Friends, Cold Mountain Rhythm Band, Dr. John (pictured), John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Cha's and the Kelly Bell Band. Hours are 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. tomorrow and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday.

CELEBRITY SERIES Sept., 14, 15, 16* Mario Venzago, conductor Gianluca Cascioli, piano R. Strauss: Don Juan Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 5 Schumann: Symphony No. 1 "Spring" Sept. 27, 28 Gunther Herbig, conductor Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin Mark O'Connor: Double Concerto for Two Violins Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 Oct. 19, 20 Daniel Hege, conductor Jonathan Biss, piano Mendelssohn: "The Hebrides" (Fingal's Cave) Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 9 Copland: Symphony No. 3 Nov. 2, 3, 4** Yuri Temirkanov, conductor Pamela Frank, violin Beethoven: Violin Concerto Brahms: Symphony No. 2 Nov. 9, 11 Yuri Temirkanov, conductor Tchaikovsky: "Iolanta," concert version of lyric opera in one act Baltimore Symphony Chorus Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 2* Libor Pesek, conductor Ivan Moravec, piano Martinu: "The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca" Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 Debussy: "Images: Gigues, Iberia, Rondes de Printemps" Jan. 4, 5, 6**, 2001 Yuri Temirkanov, conductor Midori, violin R. Strauss: Opening theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey" ("Also Sprach Zarathustra")

In his first three programs as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conductor Yuri Temirkanov definitely made a difference. Critics and audience members alike remarked upon how rich the sound was, how passionate the playing. Clearly, Temirkanov was working some sort of magic with the orchestra. But what sort, exactly? From the audience's perspective, the conductor's job often seems a bit of a mystery. Obviously, he's the man in charge, and the orchestra responds to his commands -- his beat, his sense of dynamics, his conception.

Hawaiian celebration Chase away the winter blahs by joining the Hula School for a Valentine's "uniki" 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday at the Columbian Center, 335 N. Ritchie Highway, Severna Park. Uniki means graduation, and members of the public are invited to watch as the school's latest batch of graduates performs ancient and modern dances of Hawaii, Tahiti, New Zealand and Samoa. Audience members also will have the opportunity to dance to the music of Lava the DJ and to purchase food, island gifts and Valentine's items.

A visitor to Baltimore three Thursdays ago could have been forgiven for wondering if the city's new mayor was Russian, not Irish. Blue banners emblazoned with the name of Yuri Temirkanov, incoming music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, hung in every imaginable spot, including the lobby of Penn Station. Giant searchlights split the snowy sky, leading music lovers to Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where Temirkanov and the BSO were performing Gustav Mahler's gigantic "Resurrection" Symphony at the conductor's inaugural concert.

The verdict is in. Yuri Temirkanov whacked it out of the park last Thursday -- and out of the county last night. Out-of-town critics, this one included, agreed wholeheartedly with the Baltimoreans who gave the Russian conductor a 12-minute standing ovation at the end of his inaugural concert as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony brought out the best in leader and players alike. Still, one concert does not a honeymoon make, and Temirkanov had something to prove.

Some musicians divide conductors into those they describe as "time-beaters," and those they do not. It isn't difficult to decipher what they mean: There are conductors (among them some truly great ones) who use their hands to articulate rhythm precisely. And there are orchestral leaders who use their hands not to mark time, but to mold the music. Yuri Temirkanov, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's new artistic director, falls into the second category. The silver-haired conductor stepped yesterday onto the podium in Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

Poe's birthday bash Help Edgar Allan Poe celebrate his 191st birthday, tomorrow through Sunday, Westminster Hall, Fayette and Greene streets. Edgar Allan Poe IV (pictured), the great-great-great grand-nephew of the author, takes center stage at the event, combining stories and poems in a show called "POEssessed." Also, the Bach Society presents "A Haunted Concert"; the Calvert High School Pipe Band (from Southern Maryland) will give a bagpipe tribute; and characters from Poe's stories will wander among guests before each show.