The Press Democrat  Principal players lead SRS finale May 6, 2002 By George Thomson By Diane Peterson  The Santa Rosa Symphony stepped into the spotlight Saturday with a program that gave principal players, rather than guest soloists, a chance to shine.  Like last year's season finale, Saturday's concert was all about the orchestra, which has developed into a formidable ensemble under Music Director Jeffrey Kahane's leadership during the past seven years.  Although there were more empty seats than usual at the Burbank Center for the Arts theater, the audience was enthusiastic, giving partial standing ovations for the first three concertos and a unanimous standing ovation for the final work, Bartok's thorny "Concerto for Orchestra."  It's been a busy spring for Kahane and the orchestra -- just three weeks ago, they pulled off a double-header with Tippett's demanding "A Child of Our Time" oratorio in the same weekend as a chamber music concert at Sonoma Country Day School's Jackson Theater, in north Santa Rosa.  This weekend's program, originally scheduled for April, offers an interesting blend of music from the baroque to the Impressionist eras and beyond. No one work stole the show, but together, they added up to a pleasing evening of solid musicianship.  Concertmaster Joe Edelberg and principal second violinist Karen Shinozaki got the program off to a lustrous start Saturday with Bach's "Concerto in D Minor" for two violins.  Built on balance rather than challenge, the concerto poured out of the violinists like a smooth pinot noir, with a fluid and stately refinement that took the audience's breath away.  The first movement came across crisp and assertive, with good balance. The bittersweet second movement, conducted without a baton, flowed at a lively pace without losing any of its affecting quality. And the brisk third movement, tossed off with more agility than muscle, brought the concerto to an exhilarating close.  If you're a fan of the baroque -- and many people in the audience seemed to be -- it doesn't get much better than this.  Next up, principal trombonist Bruce Chrisp took the audience on a magic carpet ride with Grondahl's dramatic and fiery "Trombone Concerto."  From its brusque opening "blats" to its final vibrated bass note, the three-movement work was performed smoothly and almost effortlessly by Chrisp, who boasts a warm, mellow tone that made the work glow.  In the showcase spot before intermission, principal clarinetist Roy Zajac brought whimsical expression to Debussy's "Premiere Rhapsodie," a rippling, one-movement work that plays off the clarinet's naturally taunting tone.  From the densely textured opening to the virtuosic scales at the end, Zajac wove a magical web with his nimble fingers.  Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra," a perennial favorite among musicians and audiences alike, brought the concert -- and the season -- to a climactic close.  The woodwinds and brass, strings and percussion all shone in this fitting finale, in which Bartok's edgy energy is balanced by hypnotic "night music" and sheer lyricism.  Even the second violins got to gallop through a solo in the last movement, which requires fingers of steel from the fiddlers.  Although the subscription season is over, the symphony has one more special jazz concert May 17 with the Turtle Island String Quartet.  The Santa Rosa Symphony will repeat the Saturday program at 8 tonight at the Burbank Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Tickets: $20-$40. Phone: 546-8742.  You can reach Staff Writer Diane Peterson at 521-5287 or dpeterson@pressdemocrat.com.