MUSIC REVIEW : Unusual Helping of Beethoven : Under Enrique Diemecke’s direction, the Pacific Symphony played the infrequently heard Second Symphony at Irvine Meadows Saturday night.

On a beautiful Saturday evening at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, the Pacific Symphony served up an unusual helping of Beethoven: The main work was the infrequently heard Second Symphony. The big display piece, the “Emperor” Piano Concerto, concluded proceedings after intermission.

Led by Enrique Diemecke, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, and featuring young Noriko Ogawa as soloist, the orchestra proved that as a Beethoven interpreter it can hold its own with its major Southland peers.

After a tentative performance of the “Fidelio” Overture, matters improved dramatically with the Second Symphony.

Diemecke’s tempos and phrasing were so carefully thought-out and decisively imparted that although his was a strongly individual interpretation, it clearly was devoted to Beethoven’s power and exhilaration rather than to his own conductor’s ego.

Equally important, Diemecke seized the music so firmly, and the orchestra projected with such beautiful intonation and thrilling tone, that together they tamed the wayward outdoor acoustic which often defeats even the most experienced teams.

Oddly, while the Symphony’s three fast movements (particularly the whirlwind Scherzo) were fast indeed, Diemecke chose to play the slow second movement very broadly and to end it with an drawn-out, self-conscious ritard. Not inappropriately, a baby in the audience picked that point to cry--a future critic, perhaps? Diemecke slowed down again at the end of the third movement Trio, with equally unconvincing results.

In the Fifth Piano Concerto, Ogawa’s richly resonant opening flourishes, mixing magical half-tones and a wonderfully secure technique, served notice that she has the tools needed to be a fine Beethoven pianist. And not only did she display resolute power and a flair for spontaneous poetry, she showed unusual sensitivity to the orchestra’s needs when making transitions between solo and ensemble sections.

It was a fast and splendid “Emperor.” Only Ogawa’s tendency to become self-effacing, and the orchestra’s loss of energy during the last half of the finale, marred the otherwise commanding performance.