Sanderling Shows Leadership Skills

Just barely a baby boomer, 34-year-old Stefan Sanderling again represented his generation respectably in his second Hollywood Bowl appearance, Thursday night. He led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a comprehensive overview--well-detailed by players of the orchestra--of Schumann’s Fourth Symphony at the end of the program, and he showed leadership skills worth admiring throughout the evening.

In the middle, he accompanied Helene Grimaud felicitously in Ravel’s jazzy, insouciant, familiar Piano Concerto in G.

Under-rehearsal, however, seemed to affect the Overture, Rossini’s famously popular opening to “William Tell,” which lacked an abundance of polish, but still reached its conclusion ablaze with speed. Some of the solo lines emerged splendidly.

Sanderling’s control over the orchestra in Schumann’s D-minor Symphony resulted in handsome contrasts and the creation of a continuous, apprehendable musical narrative. It was breathless but in control--all in all, a worthwhile revival.

Though she insisted to a Times reporter before her Bowl debut five years ago that she is not strictly a French pianist, the Aix-en-Provence-born Grimaud on this occasion brought refinement, colorful detailing, rhythmic buoyancy and strong projection to the ultra-French Ravel concerto. Describe her any way you want, she still played the piece with flair and a deep sense of personal identification.