Zacharias rekindles love of Mozart’s creativity

Over the past decade, Christian Zacharias has played and conducted half a dozen Mozart piano concertos with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and has delighted listeners with his repertory specialty, music of the Classical period, including Haydn and Mozart symphonies.

This week, the magnetic German musician has returned to lead the orchestra, this time in his debut appearances at Walt Disney Concert Hall (continuing through tonight).

Thursday, in the first of those concerts, his performances were again models of enlightenment, fervor and joy.

Superior and sparkling pianism are just the beginning of Zacharias’ virtues. As a conductor, he has the gift of bringing out the best qualities in an orchestra. In two symphonies Thursday -- Haydn’s No. 31, the “Hornsignal,” and Johann Vanhal’s Symphony in G minor -- he drew from the Philharmonic colorful, spontaneous and multileveled readings, performances of striking contrasts and surprising subtlety.

Wonderful soloism emerged, especially from the virtuosic horn section and violinist-concertmaster Martin Chalifour, principal cellist Daniel Rothmuller and principal bassist Dennis Trembley.

The high points of the concert, though, were Zacharias’ liquid and characterful playing of the Mozart concertos No. 6 in B-flat and No. 19 in F.

The former, pristine and seraphic, renewed one’s love for Mozart’s bubbling invention, particularly in the touching, deeply lyric slow movement and in all three of the composer’s bright cadenzas. The F-major concerto, a breathlessly demanding pianistic showcase, lighted up Disney Hall and was the occasion for loud cheering from the audience.

Clearly, these listeners will welcome Zacharias’ next visit.

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Los Angeles Philharmonic

Where: Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A.

When: 8 tonight

Price: $15 to $125

Contact: (323) 850-2000; www.laphil.org