MUSIC REVIEW : GROVES, FLEISHER AT HOLLYWOOD BOWL

Hollywood Bowl observed the final Thursday night concert of the 1985 season peacefully, placidly and pleasantly with Sir Charles Groves conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in works by William Schuman and Sir Edward Elgar and Leon Fleisher playing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in D for the left hand.

It is doubtful that the presence of Schuman’s “New England Triptych” on this program could be attributed to any burst of patriotism on the part of the Philharmonic management.

The activating factor more likely was Sir Charles, paying to his host country the same respect that by training and nature every Englishman accords the products of his native land. After having made his bow to an American composer, the conductor made the same gesture to an English one by listing that capstone of British orchestral music, Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations.

There was no question of comparison or competition. Schuman’s three-part work is an adroit commentary in more or less contemporary terms on three anthems by the 18th-Century Bostonian William Billings. There is more cleverness than warmth or piety in the transcriptions, for the instrumentation is clear and transparent, the harmonic dress mildly acrid, and the rhythmic life engaging. It might be described as not so much important as listenable.

Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations are of course weightier, more universal and more characteristically national, though it is not easy to describe how Elgar managed to pay tribute to Brahms in a convincing British accent.

The music, naturally, is in the blood of every English conductor, and Sir Charles let it unfold comfortably, clearly, with reticent dashes of humor and sentiment, and unobtrusive regard for niceties of orchestral playing. Particularly lush solo episodes were contributed by Ronald Leonard’s cello and Michele Zukovsky’s clarinet.

For a pianist with a disabled right arm, Ravel’s Concerto for the left hand is a God-given gift. And the piece itself, a miniature masterpiece, is a Godsend to the whole world.

Other pianists have made a little more of the drama and the luxurious color, and maybe treated the piece a bit more incisively, but Fleisher was in full command of the difficulties and delivered a performance that should have been pleasurable to all Ravel lovers.

Attendance: 6,905