MUSIC AND DANCE REVIEWS : PHILHARMONIC AT HOLLYWOOD BOWL

In the midst of his appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Saturday at Hollywood Bowl, Dudley Moore shrugged and told his audience, “I really don’t know what I’m doing here.”

It was a rare moment of honesty.

Whether delivering a butchered, if good-humored, reading of “Tubby the Tuba” (assisted by Roger Bobo) or in presiding over a collection of forgettable extracts from his derivative movie scores, Moore never seemed comfortable in the vastness of the Bowl. Perhaps it was nervousness--15,543 were in attendance on Friday, with 17,504 on hand Saturday.

Or perhaps the great outdoors simply proved too great for the comic actor’s subtle humor and intimate jazz-tinged music. His dry, off-the-cuff wit too often fell flat and the occasional attempts at self-mockery seemed equally feeble. So too alas, were the musical parodies.

An accomplished pianist, Moore combined his musical skills and sense of frivolity in brief take-offs on Beethoven sonatas, Schubert lieder and Renaissance madrigals. These clever stunts might knock ‘em dead at parties, but in Cahuenga Pass, they raised very few chortles.

Only in a concluding set of cool-jazz tunes did Moore--minus the Philharmonic--finally seem to loosen up. Though one piece tended to melt into the next, the star of the show, aided by the capable Ray Brown (bass) and Jeff Hamilton (drums), emerged relaxed and amiable. And so did the music, as cocktail-loungey as it was.

All this, nonetheless, came at the end of a long evening: The audience exodus reached flood proportions, mid-set. Reports from Friday indicate that the performance continued past midnight!

The Philharmonic, led by David Alan Miller, began the proceedings with an unexciting “Bartered Bride” Overture by Smetana. Though played on Friday, another “serious” selection--the opening Allegro from Beethoven’s Triple Concerto--was dropped, wisely, from the lengthy Saturday agenda.