MUSIC REVIEW : Previn and Zukovsky at Bowl

The penultimate program of the Hollywood Bowl season, Thursday evening, revealed Andre Previn and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in fine fettle in another tuneup for their Japan tour. It also proved as quirky a study in contrasts to the ear as it looked on paper.

Previn opened the proceedings--post-National Anthem, of course--with Brahms’ Third Symphony. He began in almost ceremonial terms, emphasizing stately formalism and smoothly blended textures.

There was real nobility to the effort, but also a sense of ponderous--even cautious--deliberation. The first two movements progressed, slowly, with a dignity that often sounded merely tired.

The surging song of the third movement, however, struck emotional sparks. From there, Previn drove home in a crisp, clean, punchy finale, capped with a denouement of restrained poignancy.

To close the program, Previn chose the Technicolored goo of the Second Suite from Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloe” ballet. It rolled along from climax to climax, a sonically many-splendored thing, distinguished in the Pantomime by the elegantly sensual flute solo of Ann Diener Giles.

The main solo vehicle was the Clarinet Concerto by Aaron Copland, fast becoming a forgotten composer on symphonic programs. It reflected obliquely on both the Brahms and the Ravel in its reinterpretation of Classical formal ideals and its austere, pungent scoring.

Longtime Philharmonic principal Michele Zukovsky was the endlessly fluent protagonist. She treated the jazz impulses of the finale with sassy affection and the expressive brooding of the opening movement with long-lined control, preserving her eloquent tone and interpretive poise in all challenges. Previn and a chamber orchestra contingent from the Philharmonic accompanied tidily.

Official attendance: 11,354.