MUSIC REVIEW : Violinist Isaac Stern at UCLA’s Royce Hall

At nearly 68, Isaac Stern is beginning to resemble a short Andres Segovia. He has the girth, the processional entrances, the white hair and pink face, and the swift, impaling stare for loud coughers.

His playing, however, still compares favorably with the youngest and whizziest of the current crop, at least when his attention is fully engaged.

Tuesday evening at Royce Hall, it was Bartok’s Sonata No. 1 that awoke the violinist. Just a month ago, Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich showed what icy abstraction could do for the work. Stern and pianist Robert McDonald found equal success with commanding heat.

Not that Stern ignored the intellectual challenges. But he found convincing Magyar impulses throughout the piece, making the opening sections connect with the furious finale in a thoroughly compelling fashion.

After intermission, Stern returned with Brahms’ serendipitously appropriate “Regenlied” Sonata in G. Though not the most probing of performances, it was sweetly sung, with Stern’s sovereign technique allowing the deceptive impression of simplicity.

Schubert’s Rondo Brillant, however, ultimately sounded fussy, excepting an imposing introduction. Stern dispatched its busy bravura passages with casual clarity, but seemed merely to read through the lyrical effusions.

Stern began the long evening with Dvorak’s Sonatina in G, which deserves better than reduction to a dull warm-up. He appeared frustrated by the lack of technical flash, offering a perversely accented, often squeaky account.

Throughout, McDonald proved a solid, articulate accompanist, willing and able to assert independence when necessary.

Push-button applause brought Stern and McDonald out for two lilting encores--Kreisler’s “Liebesleid” and “Schon Rosmarin.”