Solid, Uninspired Conducting From Pesek

Strong playing and undistinguished conducting marked the first of two collaborations this week between the Los Angeles Philharmonic and podium guest Libor Pesek.

Tuesday night, the most eventful happenings in the Hollywood Bowl seemed to take place above the amphitheater rather than on its famous stage: No fewer than four noisy aircraft intruded on the slow movement in Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto.

Not that what the Prague-born conductor and his soloist, German pianist Peter Roesel, were creating was in any way memorable--their run-through, to which the Philharmonic contributed neatly, became forgettable even as it unfolded. Roesel, a conscientious musician, brings little in the way of personality to his performances. This time around, he played cleanly but without passion; his mind seemed to be elsewhere, though his fingers were in attendance.

Pesek’s competent and controlled reading of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, which closed the evening, might have saved it, but didn’t. Sensible tempos and carefully scrubbed instrumentalism are only the beginnings of interpretive achievement. In his now-regular visits here, the 62-year-old conductor gives the impression of being stuck at beginnings.

The program began with a splendid and unmarred performance of Smetana’s still-irresistible “Bartered Bride” Overture.

* In another program, this one ending with Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony, Libor Pesek conducts the L.A. Philharmonic tonight, 8:30, at the Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. Soloist is Leila Josefowicz, who plays Glazunov’s Violin Concerto. $1-$75. (213) 480-3232.