Music Reviews : American Soviet Youth Orchestra at Bowl

Wrapped in a blaze of publicity, the American Soviet Youth Orchestra arrived at Hollywood Bowl Wednesday night for the kickoff concert of the American leg of its world tour. But the circumstances were far from routine.

Originally, this biennial hybrid of East and West was supposed to survey Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” “Night on Bald Mountain” and the Sibelius Violin Concerto, as led by the Bolshoi Opera’s Alexander Lazarev.

Then Lazarev, on tour with the Bolshoi, gave way to Pavel Kogan (son of the late esteemed violinist Leonid Kogan), and Mussorgsky gave way to what would have been the United States premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s “Astra.”

The next thing we knew, Wuorinen was out, and Dukas’ “L’Apprenti Sorcier” and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 were in. Then Kogan dropped out, and Leonard Slatkin--scheduled to lead the joint concert with the L.A. Philharmonic Institute Orchestra on Sunday, anyway--took over. He scrapped Brahms and inserted a string of standards by Mussorgsky, Barber and Tchaikovsky.

Confusing? Even a professional orchestra might find it so, let alone a touring youth group adjusting to the unfamiliar, quirky surroundings of the Bowl. Yet this handsome-looking, road-tested orchestra--whose members were clad in somber concert black instead of the usual Bowl white--acquitted itself quite well under these musical-chairs conditions.

Oddly enough, this orchestra lacks the unbuttoned exuberance that one usually finds in groups of this age bracket (ages 17 to 24). Instead, one hears an ensemble that values finesse and polish, with warm, unified strings that are not afraid to use touches of portamento, surprisingly non-assertive brass, nicely blended woodwinds, and an excellent percussion brigade. Interestingly, the string section sports mostly Russian names, while the rest of the orchestra is predominantly American.

The controlled music making may have been strongly influenced by Slatkin, whose previous appearances here have tended to burn on a low flame. His “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” was long on mystery and short on extroversion; Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” took its time in building up a limited head of steam, fueled mostly by the snazzy percussion work.

Slatkin could muster only a fairly bland accompaniment for the smooth, silky tone, on-the-dot technique and cautious musicianship of violinist Joshua Bell in the Sibelius concerto.

Yet Slatkin and company also offered suave, subtly shaded readings of Mussorgsky’s “Khovanshchina” Prelude and Barber’s Adagio for Strings, along with a pair of revved-up encores, Gliere’s Russian Sailor’s Dance and, would you believe, “Darth Vader’s Theme” (by John Williams). At this performance, 7,953 patrons and an uninvited, circling airplane took in the evening.