From Lyon, a fresh reading of ‘Rite’

Who would have thought there was so much lyricism in Stravinsky’s raw, propulsive “Rite of Spring” until David Robertson and his Orchestre National de Lyon revealed it Sunday in UCLA’s Royce Hall?

Maybe it’s that fabled French clarity and refinement that Robertson, though a native of Santa Monica, comes by legitimately, having served as music director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, founded by Pierre Boulez in Paris, from 1992 to 2000 until he took over the Lyon orchestra. Maybe it’s always been there, but other conductors have preferred to push the score’s contrasts to collision impact.

Robertson didn’t slight the rhythmic force of the music. But the conductor rounded some edges and lubricated some joints. He knew which accents were best treated as hammer blows and which established the basic terrain. He ensured transparency to reveal rarely heard inner relationships and rhythms.

Throughout, he kept a dignity and poise, but the final Sacrificial Dance prompted some amiable podium choreography as his arms, legs and feet independently registered the section’s competing rhythms.

“Rite” closed a three-part French program, which opened with Debussy’s “Jeux,” another Diaghilev Ballets Russes score also choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky. Premiered two weeks before “Rite,” “Jeux” inspired laughter rather than rioting, with Nijinsky’s anti-classical choreography again being the likely culprit. Robertson and the orchestra luxuriated in the score’s gorgeous tapestry of refined orchestral colors.

Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand, with the formidable Leon Fleisher as soloist, served as a monumental centerpiece. Robertson injected a pulsing energy even in the opening depths of the work. Fleisher entered with a thoughtful, exploratory meditation. But when the two decided that both parts needed to be fierce, they unleashed a tremendous force together. They hit the final note with breath-stopping precision.