SAN DIEGO COUNTY : MUSIC REVIEW : As Gala Lights Dim, Symphony Settles Into Predictable Seasonal Routine : Symphony: It was mostly Brahms and Beethoven, but, luckily, guest soloist Cho-Liang Lin was on hand for a stirring interpretation of the Brahms Violin Concerto.

Without the glamour and klieg lights of last week’s gala opening, the San Diego Symphony settled into its seasonal routine. Yoav Talmi returned to the Symphony Hall podium Thursday night to lead his troops through a conventional Brahms and Beethoven program. Only the opening “Second Essay” by Samuel Barber provided a welcome respite from predictable harmonies and familiar themes.

Guest soloist Cho-Liang Lin provided the evening’s primary musical excitement in the Brahms Violin Concerto. The popular, oft-recorded Taiwanese violinist again demonstrated his amazing purity of tone and immaculate technique in a stirring--if not exactly passionate--interpretation of the concerto. (Lin was a featured soloist at last August’s La Jolla SummerFest and played a Mozart concerto with the orchestra several seasons ago.)

His brilliant first-movement cadenza Thursday was so luminous that it was almost regrettable for the orchestra to come back in and break the spell.

Talmi could not have been more complementary in his approach to the concerto, finding solace in its graceful lines and refined textures. However, he did not elicit from the players the rhythmic precision and cohesive ensemble that would have made the final movement resonate with its wonted earthy dance rhythms.

Conducting Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony without the aid of a score, Talmi gave a thoughtful, personal account of the work. The middle movements had a supple feel and persuasive lyricism that showed the orchestra’s best side. Only the last movement seemed heavy-handed and awkward.

The music director designate has yet to discover how to unleash this orchestra’s power without losing its focus and discipline. At present, the orchestra’s forte remains on the coarse side. There are, of course, many new faces in the orchestra this season; it will take a while to integrate and shape the beast.

The symphony’s strong suit turned out to be Barber’s infrequently programmed “Essay,” in which the winds’ well-polished counterpoint was an unmitigated delight. Talmi has stated that he intends to feature compositions by American composers, and this was no token reading. Building slowly and confidently to a noble climax, conductor and orchestra gave the best possible argument for this optimistic but subtle bit of Americana.