MUSIC REVIEW : Full St. Martin Academy at Ambassador

Though the two smaller London-based ensembles touring under the name Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields have visited Southern California in the recent past, the larger, 51-player symphonic body of that title arrived here only Saturday night.

In acoustically hospitable Ambassador Auditorium, Sir Neville Marriner, one of the founders of the Academy and now its artistic director, conducted the first of five local appearances this week by the Mannheim-size orchestra. Throughout an exposing and pitfall-loaded program devoted to three familiar works by Mozart, the expanded Academy ensemble performed in every wise like an important and accomplished international ensemble. With a sold-out house filled with non-subscribers, this began to seem like a festival performance.

The orchestra’s sound, at first hearing, seems transparent, clear, resonantly full-bodied and usually balanced. Its players have achieved, as individuals and as a group, a high plateau of technical reliability. They play in tune, with deep resources of dynamics and with solid self-regulation. How versatile they are may be shown in more diverse programs than this one, which comprised Mozart’s “Paris” Symphony (No. 31), Clarinet Concerto and “Jupiter” Symphony (No. 41). Yet even here, they showed many facets.

Marriner’s earnest, sometimes finicky leadership may not often result in particularly inspired or remarkably insightful readings. Yet, when the 64-year-old conductor is on the podium, he never fails to let music happen.

It happened here Saturday in clean, fluent and cherishable readings. At the end, there was an encore, by way of Mozart’s Overture to “Le Nozze di Figaro.”

For its extrovert, well-limned performance of the “Paris” Symphony, the orchestra may have overgauged the brightness of the Pasadena hall; in the outer movements, much of the playing emerged louder than necessary--not strident but overstated. Indeed, the ensemble’s strong range of dynamics is not always utilized.

Greater contrasts, as well as consistent warmth of tone, informed Marriner’s leadership of the “Jupiter” Symphony. This well-routined account emerged handsomely relaxed in the opening movement--other places in this program would have benefited from such relaxation--benignly lyrical in the Andante cantabile, crisp in the Menuetto and utterly clarified, without the slightest hint of frenzy, in the finale.

At mid-program, Neville introduced to the West Coast his son, clarinetist Andrew Marriner, a veteran of European orchestras, principal of the London Symphony and, since 1985, first clarinet in this ensemble.

In the Clarinet Concerto, young Marriner showed all the instrumental mastery and musical resourcefulness the work demands, not only in its place as Mozart’s ultimate solo concerto, but also as a showpiece in a long and grand tradition. That is saying much, for simplicity, artfulness and abundant detailing are among the requirements. It is virtually impossible to hear the work without recalling great performances from one’s store of memories. On this occasion, the soloist compared favorably with those memories.

Adding to the pleasures of this evening were the informative and expertly written program notes by Lee Trippett, who also contributed a fascinating interview with Marriner, taken here last fall when the conductor led performances of “Cenerentola” for Music Center Opera.