MUSIC AND DANCE REVIEWS : ASHKENAZY CONDUCTS PHILHARMONIC

When Vladimir Ashkenazy walked on the stage of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Friday night, the members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic spontaneously rose to honor him. The musicians obviously regard him as their kind of conductor.

Since Ashkenazy is comparatively new to the conducting scene, Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony may indeed represent a new world to him. He made it sound as if that were the case. It has been a long time since the “New World” enjoyed the luxury of conducting so fresh, vital and enthusiastic.

It surged with drama and shifting colors. Nothing hackneyed here; Ashkenazy’s conducting is as directly communicative as his piano playing. The conducting is also as well reined as his piano playing; he does not need to drive or force or tamper to make the orchestra play precisely, with noble sound and emotional power.

The audience that seemed to fill the house to the last seat obviously enjoyed Ashkenazy’s ministrations, but, just as obviously, the vast majority was on hand to hear Itzhak Perlman play Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the standard Joachim cadenza.

There were no surprises in Perlman’s Brahms. His small, shining tone could have done with more breadth and warmth, but the performance was all serious, sedate and in exemplary taste. The audience roared in approval.