Phil Plays It Safe, But Not Deftly

The Hollywood Bowl was not a place to look for musical adventure Thursday evening. The Los Angeles Philharmonic dug deep into the standards box and pulled out Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, the “Pastoral.” Safe choices for humming along or beating time with a rolled-up program.

But not necessarily safely played. Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and conductor Hans Vonk had some creative ideas about the Tchaikovsky and were prepared to take risks putting them across. Contrast was the game and rhythm the ball, and if the overmatched sound system dropped the soft--very soft--connecting bits . . . well, it was an interesting effort.

Most interesting, though not most persuasive, was the slow movement. The plucked string sound emerged like the faint thunk of someone playing a cardboard marimba, and Thibaudet faded his part into murmurous accompaniment for aggressively bright wind solos. Then he darted into the quicksilver middle section like it was post-bop jazz with an edge on.

The game was not totally error-free on anyone’s part, but it was generally lively--in an expansive, lyrical way in the first movement--and freshly thought.

Vonk’s “Pastoral” was a relaxed and leisurely one. That could be a good thing, but probably isn’t when the main impression it conveys is one of length. This was not so much a matter of sheer minutes as it was of cautious spirit, a modest contentment replacing the unbuttoned ebullience we expect here.

The Philharmonic’s playing matched this sedate level of inspiration, dutifully competent in mass and sometimes much more in solos. Despite the carefully clarified context, the symphony, too, had its glitches and missed communication, including a fizzled conclusion. Stolid dependability may be a self-defeating goal in this music.