MUSIC REVIEW : Bamert Inspires Quality Performance

For whatever reasons--and many possibilities exist--attendance seems to be down at Hollywood Bowl in this 73rd summer season at the outdoor amphitheater. Thursday night, for instance, when Matthias Bamert returned to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a Beethoven-Brahms program, a crowd of merely 8,521 listeners semi-filled the showplace.

Given the high quality of the performances, that seemed a shame. Bamert, the 52-year-old Swiss musician of international low-profile, exudes authority without glamour, and appears to get splendid results from an orchestra.

His leadership of both Beethoven’s “Egmont” Overture and Schoenberg’s orchestral transcription of Brahms’ Quartet, Opus 25, revealed compelling overviews and striking details. Moreover, the Philharmonic on Thursday played for Bamert with the kinds of interest and focus it does not always muster for a guest on its podium, especially in this outdoor situation.

Schoenberg’s colorful but never overwritten realization of Brahms’ youthful work remains a novelty uniquely associated with Los Angeles. Made in 1937, the orchestration was given its premiere performance by this orchestra, conducted by none less than Otto Klemperer, the following year. Later, former Philharmonic music director Zubin Mehta admired it enough to bring it back a number of times during his tenure.

Bamert’s approach lightened the work’s textures even more than we remember, and its many charms seemed fresh again. Even those who cannot get enough of Brahms’ four symphonies have to welcome this pleasant footnote to that oeuvre .

Pamela Frank was the assured soloist in a direct but sometimes pedestrian reading of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto at mid-program. Frank’s technique is admirable for its unfettered and immaculate profile; further, she is a violinist of strong musicality. She certainly brought to the Larghetto a becalmed utterance worthy of its character. One wanted only more heat in all movements; without that, the composer’s inspiration becomes merely a collection of well-played scales and arpeggios.