MUSIC AND DANCE REVIEWS : PIANIST CLAUDE HELFFER PLAYS AT USC

Elegantly slim, aristocratic of bearing, perspicacious in programming and communicative at the keyboard--Claude Helffer brought unusual pianistic breadth and musical eloquence to his program at the Schoenberg Institute at USC, Friday night.

The quick succession of six 20th-Century works of medium length turned the large audience in the small concert room into musical grazers. Unfortunately, the program had less variety for the ear than for the eye.

Andre Boucourechliev’s “Six Etudes” (1975), Philippe Manoury’s “Cryptophonos” (1974) and Iannis Xenakis’ “Herma” (1962) all proved to be violent, vehement and sadistically atonal--if, in each case, temporarily fascinating. Manoury’s integrity of thought held one’s interest most effectively; Helffer’s easy virtuosity put the emphasis on sound, not noise.

Betsy Jolas’ deliberately and relentlessly obfuscative “B for Sonata” (1973) uses a wider pianistic palette, but seldom deals directly with the listener. Boulez’s First Sonata emerged, in Helffer’s clarified reading, an engrossing precursor to later, heavier thoughts.

At the beginning of the program, Faure’s Theme and Variations, Opus 73, put the agenda in perspective. At the end, an encore in the Scherzo to Boulez’s Second Sonata maintained that perspective.