‘Rite of Spring’ Blossoms Into a Salonen Showpiece

One good measure of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s success with the Los Angeles Philharmonic is that “The Rite of Spring” now sounds easy. The orchestra rocks and romps through the piece with the efficiency of a machine, as if breaking this musical bronco were as comfy as a pony ride.

The jaw-dropping display will be heard next week in New York and Washington, D.C., as the orchestra takes its quick annual turn back East. Friday, and over the weekend, local audiences got a preview at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, along with the non-traveling rest of a thematic program devoted to other delights of spring.

Conductor and orchestra have played Stravinsky’s “Rite” often in recent seasons, and its intricate barbarism is now completely at their command. Salonen’s interpretation fully embraces the work’s extremes and, in the process, makes it into an orchestral showpiece. Moments of cool mathematical calculation precede explosions of frenzy and gut-thumping force. A slower-than-usual tempo, with the orchestra pulling heave-ho fortissimo, gives way to a faster-than-usual passage, the thrill of release, pure adrenaline. Salonen’s pianissimos approach inaudibility. His last note to Part 1 is longer and louder than anyone else’s, a scrumptiously fat blat.

It’s definitely an attention-grabbing performance, and Friday the audience sat quietly enthralled. The Philharmonic played with sparkling virtuosity and gusto and not a hint of carefulness. Perhaps most notable were the strings, slicing machete paths through all the metrical thickets. Confident musicians at his disposal, Salonen could let loose--he looked like a man enjoying himself.

With the Salonen regime concentrating so consistently on 20th century repertoire, the performance of Schumann’s “Spring” Symphony before intermission--reportedly the conductor’s first with the orchestra--became something of an occasion. His reading had a sturdy robustness, plenty of detail, heroic brass and telling accent. It lacked, at times, the lightness of foot that others have found in the outer movements, and an affectionate caress of the exquisite Larghetto. Schumann is not conquered in a day. Still, this was a thoughtful and well-turned-out debut account.

The concert began with a rarity, Debussy’s early symphonic suite “Printemps.” Though a little uneven in its inspiration, the work, at its worst, is as pleasant as a warm bath. Salonen and orchestra captured the range of its moods, from fragility to majesty, in luxurious colors.