Yanni’s Aura Is Too Much of a Grand Thing

With the bright, splashy colors that huge success and a 38-piece band and orchestra can afford, Yanni goes on painting a glowing, idealized musical portrait of humanity as he thinks it can be.

The Greek-born dabbler in pop-classical-world and New Age fusion clearly is impervious to critics who crave music immersed in the complexities, contradictions and cankers of humanity. When it comes to Homo sapiens plunking down at the box office, flattery can get you everywhere.

Having played the Acropolis in his most successful gig (“Yanni: Live at the Acropolis” sold millions and is a PBS staple), Yanni might consider some bits of wisdom that originated in that neighborhood: the Platonic notion of ideal forms and the classical Athenian virtue of moderation in all things.

His 2 1/2-hour concert Wednesday at the Pond of Anaheim had some worthy points, but most of it was leaden stuff, gargantuan in scale but missing the contrasts and balances of truly classical form. It was like Kenny G with more toys: a musical hook would be numbingly repeated, and even in some highly energized passages, when talented violin and saxophone soloists went face to face in flying duets, they gave off the aura but not the substance of exciting interplay, parroting each other’s lines instead of throwing out fresh possibilities.

During a pause, Yanni extolled diversity. But his music reflected the simplistic diversity of cultural meld rather than the thornier, richer diversity of a good argument, vigorously but peaceably pursued--another of the Acropolis’ more significant cultural hand-me-downs.

On the plus side, even if he does fancy himself a human-potential guru, Yanni was likably low-key and capable of light humor--a welcome antidote to the unceasing earnestness of his music. Splendid sound clarity and good use of video screens for close-ups of the action drew a critic in as much as taste would allow; Yanni’s concept may be all wrong, but his execution was flawless.

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* Yanni plays tonight at the Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood. $50-$75. (310) 419-3100. 8 p.m.