MUSIC REVIEW : Vladimir Ashkenazy at Chandler Pavilion

At one time, 10 and more years ago, it seemed that Vladimir Ashkenazy visited here annually, playing solo recitals or with orchestra--or both. Now, those visits appear to happen less frequently, and some of the time they bring the Russian-born musician here as conductor.

No wonder, then, that what seemed to be an overflow crowd filled the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center for Ashkenazy’s latest recital Wednesday night. What that throng heard was proof once more that the compact 51-year-old pianist remains one of the handful of standard-setters of his generation.

Again, his program probed serious scores deeply. Again, his comprehensive technical apparatus swept all before it. Again, his musical integrity delivered an Olympian perspective.

This time, that perspective surveyed works of Brahms and Schumann. The Piano Pieces of Opus 119 and the mammoth, early, F-minor Sonata, Opus 5, surrounded Schumann’s “Kreisleriana”; this was a heavy listen as well as a virtuosic handful. But it satisfied.

In an era of musicological--as well as biographical--reconsideration, Ashkenazy, like many others, scrutinizes familiar works with renewed zeal. His performances here were predictable only in his sober penetration of the materials and his achievement of cohesive readings.

His emotional aloofness--no grandstanding or ego-gratification ever seems to mar his playing--benefited both composers through a clear and unsurprising honesty of statement.

No self-absorption materialized to keep the intricacies of Opus 119 from revealing the simple evidence of its text; no self-dramatization by the pianist stood in the way of Brahms’ youthful and affecting sincerity. In the mysterious mood-changes of “Kreisleriana,” Ashkenazy offered no pianistic editorial comments--he merely let the work unfold.

At the end, such careful and comprehensive treatment of these treasurable scores did not go unnoticed. The hard-listening audience applauded insistently, until Ashkenazy returned and played a single encore, Chopin’s Nocturne in B, Opus 62, No. 1. Then they went home--smiling.