Music and Opera Reviews : Russian Program--Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky--at Bowl

It is idle to look for novelty in an all-this or an all-that type of musical program, such as Hollywood Bowl offered its customers Thursday night.

The familiar music on this Russian program was by Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky and the performance focus was equally divided between Yuri Temirkanov’s conducting of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony and Vladimir Krainev’s playing of Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto.

Agreeable as it was, this agenda did not provide a great amount of intrinsic excitement. The closest approach to that condition occurred in Krainev’s playing of the concerto.

His principal aim seemed to be to avoid superficial stimulation in favor of a clear and rather repressed approach.

Not that the pianist lacked anything in verve or technique, but his sound seems basically small and he did not indulge in any extravagant search for color. In the process, he discovered more abundant intimate detail than do most pianists in this piece. The playing was always clear and precise, a welcome substitute for the standard, frenzied treatment of the work.

Temirkanov likewise made no attempt to paint the gilded lily of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. His tempos inclined to the leisurely in the first two movements and the pace consistently quickened in the latter portions.

There were no volcanic flare-ups; neither were there any arid or parched passages. Some of the storms became slightly deflated by this reticence, but the work as a whole gained in shape and eloquence. The audience abandoned its customary Bowl indifference in favor of a more vocal brand of enthusiasm, and the Philharmonic players added their obvious approbation.

Attendance: 9,069.