MUSIC REVIEW : Viardo Ventures Rachmaninoff at Hollywood Bowl

Vladimir Viardo, the Soviet pianist who played the Third Rachmaninoff Concerto in his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Tuesday, is a musician who takes chances.

Even within the dim acoustical ambiance favored these nights by the Hollywood Bowl amplification wizards, he dared explore vast dynamic extremes. He approached the heroic climaxes with feverish bravado. In a day when romantic emotion intimidates the young--and the youthful--he seemed to find solace in sentiment.

Unfortunately, his obvious good intentions were not translated into imposing achievements on this occasion. Perhaps it was a matter of nerves. Perhaps it was the daunting challenge of serenading 9,366 distant strangers in the cool night air. Perhaps it was simply a matter of miscalculation.

Whatever the reason, Viardo gave a frustratingly uneven performance. It began sensitively, with extraordinarily supple lyricism and subtle accents. Moments of agitation brought the threat of scrambling and pounding, however, and Rachmaninoff provided many such moments.

Matters of coherence were hindered further by the guest conductor, Andrew Litton, who settled for timid and flabby accompaniment. Coordination between soloist and orchestra was a sometime thing.

Viardo, incidentally, was appearing as a replacement for a more famous Soviet pianist whose cancellation was explained in rather piquant terms. “Alexander Toradze,” quoth the management, “has overextended his activities this summer and requested to be released from his Bowl engagement.”

After intermission, Litton returned for a very restrained performance of Brahms’ Fourth Symphony. It was nice, in its calm and tasteful way, but it tended to confuse mellowness with blandness.

Not a great night at the place where, according to the resident puff-monger, music meets the stars.