MUSIC REVIEW : Maag Leads Philharmonic at Bowl

In the summer of 1991, at the ripe age of 72, Peter Maag made his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut with two Mozart programs in Hollywood Bowl.

His success was no surprise; for connoisseurs, his reputation, as an old-school maestro with solid European credentials going back half a century, had preceded him. But, to the bulk of his audience, Maag was unknown.

Returning to the Bowl this week, the Swiss conductor showed again why his general lack of fame is undeserved. Leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a Beethoven/Mozart program, Maag made our orchestra sound like the polished, mellow, exquisitely blended band it can sometimes be.

Perhaps substituting Mozart’s “Prague” Symphony for Schubert’s originally scheduled “Great” C-major Symphony gave players and conductor the time to achieve all this polish; whatever it took, an audience of 9,807 gathered at the Bowl on this balmy Tuesday night ought to have been grateful.

The orchestra not only delivered a “Prague” of great sweep, Mozartean urgency and affectionate detail, it also brought to Beethoven’s Triple Concerto and “Prometheus” Overture energetic pacing, a reassuring sense of contrast and style and an immaculate sound-profile. Now 73--the same age as our Philharmonic--Maag seems to be still in his prime.

Oddly enough, the pre-overture run-through of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was the only unpolished part of this performance, orchestra and conductor clearly having separate tempo intentions.

In the Triple Concerto, violinist Jaime Laredo, cellist Sharon Robinson and pianist Joseph Kalichstein were the stylish and splendid soloists, playing with the same dynamic freedom and self-confidence they might bring to a venue one-twentieth the size of this amphitheater.

One of the reasons for such freedom and confidence must be the current standard of sound-reproduction being practiced by the acoustical engineers monitoring these performances. Another, of course, was the specific climatic condition on Tuesday night.

But the accomplishment of the Laredo-Robinson-Kalichstein ensemble begins with the three virtuosos themselves and their unflappable musicality, supreme technical achievements and sensitive teamwork. More famous trios have played this piece at the Bowl, but few at this level of panache and authority.