Joseph Swensen Steps Up to the Podium, With Style

Don’t call it downsizing when an orchestra divides itself in half and performs two different programs over the same few days--call it normal, at least for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which has done this before, and is doing it again this week, taking advantage of two available conductors and giving the players a chance to perform small-orchestra repertory.

Conducted by Joseph Swensen and Jeffrey Kahane, the Philharmonic plays seven times between Wednesday and Sunday in the split configuration. At the first outing, in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Wednesday night (at 7 instead of the usual 8 p.m. in the first of four early Wednesday performances designed to attract more midweek and downtown patrons), violinist-turned-conductor Swensen presided impressively over a nourishing but not lengthy program.

The reduced Philharmonic forces responded neatly to the 36-year-old musician’s vigorous and careful leadership of Stravinsky’s “Dumbarton Oaks” Concerto; Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D and Symphony No. 99; Sibelius’ Romance in C.

What showed off conductor and orchestra best was the E-flat Symphony, in which exuberance and alertness took the place of the rich layering and complex detailing we enjoyed in Roger Norrington’s Haydn last week.

However, this reading expanded as it progressed. A certain stiffness in the beginning turned to more colorful and nuanced expression in the Adagio. Lyricism and fluency characterized the quick-paced Minuet. The technically tricky finale produced a spirited climax.

Swensen and the strings of the ensemble achieved a touching and integrated performance of the Sibelius piece and their Stravinsky emerged respectable but without colorful detailing. At mid-program, Philharmonic principal Ronald Leonard was the soloist in the D-major Cello Concerto, which he played with his customary elegance and technical aplomb; Swensen and the ensemble assisted amiably.

* Los Angeles Philharmonic repeats this program tonight at 8 and Sunday at 2:30 p.m., with an abridged version on Saturday at 2 p.m. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave. $8-$60, full program; $5-$26, abridged program. (213) 365-3500.