Music Reviews : Beethoven, Berlioz Symphonies at Philharmonic

One had no reason to expect anything special at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s latest performance in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Thursday night.

On the podium was a substitute conductor. On the program, two standard, familiar works.

Yet, these pieces, both of which regularly appear on Philharmonic programs, came to life in a special way on this occasion (the agenda is scheduled to be repeated tonight and again Sunday afternoon).

Andrew Davis made it happen. The 47-year-old British conductor, who seems seldom to have caused great excitement here in the two decades he has been visiting, took the program put together by his sometimes controversial, usually fascinating colleague, Roger Norrington (reportedly recovering from surgery in England), and made it work. Handsomely.

The combination of Beethoven’s Second Symphony and the “Symphonie Fantastique” by Berlioz is neither unusual nor provocative. But the two works do mix in a complementary way.

Beethoven’s early but masterful Second progresses in an orthodox, albeit characteristically feisty, way, bidding farewell, as it were, to Classicism. Berlioz’s early but masterful effort, written just 28 years later, uses the fruits of a fervid imagination in an orgy of groundbreaking, opening the door to Liszt, Wagner and the giants of the 20th Century. This orchestra certainly knows the ins and outs of both pieces.

Without creating a furor, or even high blood pressure, Davis gave both their due, delved deeply into their inner workings and polished up their detailing. Equally important, he let the orchestra shine.

In the D-major Symphony, and despite some fluffs from the horns, mechanics, balances and solo lines emerged crisply; the energetic and smoothly operating orchestra seemed near the top of its form.

In the “Symphonie Fantastique,” certainly not the most charismatic performance one can imagine, similar virtues nevertheless prevailed, in clear, unimpeded musical lines, self-regulating orchestral balances and a happy sense of direction.

For all this, Davis must be given credit, even though his actual visual image can irritate the sensitive: His hands and arms seem ever engaged, but not in time-marking; like a choral conductor, he leads the continuity, rather than the pulse, of the music in progress. This can be disconcerting, but it does result very often in apprehendable and strong music-making. It definitely did so on Thursday.