A Mixed Study of Two of the Three B’s

There were Beethoven and Brahms warhorses on the Los Angeles Philharmonic program Thursday at the Hollywood Bowl: One fared well; one didn’t.

Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen may find Brahms fascinating, but it doesn’t look that way. He pumped his arms, he moved the music along, he shifted from loud to less loud, from third gear to second. He heaved his body into a phrase.

But the Violin Concerto never sounded monumental, never sounded romantic, never sounded urgent or conflicted, never caught Gypsy fire.

It was all clean, lean, classically proportioned, nicely balanced. Some inner voices and counterpoint captured the ear. That was good. Yet it was all schematic, and it came off as an exercise in clean stick technique. Maybe there’s more nuance in a hall than outdoors.

Soloist Cho-Liang Lin made a forceful, personal entrance but soon seemed boxed in. His tone stayed sweet and lyrical. The work’s obstacles hardly appeared to faze him. Maybe the Joachim first-movement cadenza would be an opportunity to break free. He managed to explore it in a new way. This passage is quieter; here’s a pause. Did it seem as if it were coming apart? Almost, but not quite. Was this really the Joachim cadenza? Yep.

The familiar didn’t sound familiar. That’s good.

Still, when the piece was over, you had to wonder why people venerate it and regard it as such an expressive work. Why it’s held interest for 120 years. It was all pretty streamlined here.

None of this augured well for Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. But, surprise--yes, Salonen kept it moving. Yes, it’s lean, modern. But look (and listen) to that attention to detail. The sudden dynamic accent. The tempo.

What a masterly managed transition between third and fourth movements. What muscular clarity in the last. What emphasis in the closing chords. Why hadn’t Salonen done it for Brahms? Does Beethoven need less interpretation? Is he architecturally more sound? Maybe it’s just that this Beethoven interests Salonen more.

So, too, John Adams’ “Slonimsky’s Earbox,” which opened the program. Now here’s a piece that Salonen can get into. Rhythmic complexities. Short episodes and lots of character changes. Was that a hint of a Sibelius tone poem (“Night Ride and Sunrise”)? Nice. Was this an update on “An American in Paris”? Fabulous.

The conductor was burning 1,000 calories, approaching Mach speed. Did he have to? Is all that action necessary? Can’t the orchestra see him?

The Philharmonic sounded terrific. The engineers were having a great night. The audience was happy.