MUSIC REVIEW : Temirkanov Leads Philharmonic in His Third Program at Bowl

Hollywood Bowl has been enjoying an embarrassment of Russian riches, thanks obviously to the first West Coast performances of Soviet conductor Yuri Temirkanov. Tuesday, his third program for the Los Angeles Philharmonic matched Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky staples with a Liadov novelty.

Liadov described his 1909 “Kikimora” as a Legend--read tone poem--for Orchestra. The results, though, are much more coloristic than narrative, more comic than suggestive of the evil Liadov attributed to the phantom Kikimora.

The fitfully whirling, kaleidoscopic music seems deceptively difficult, and Temirkanov and the Philharmonic gave it a punchy, piquant performance.

There was potential novelty in “The Nutcracker,” inasmuch as the program promised the complete second act, instead of the much- abused suite Tchaikovsky extracted from his ballet music. As played, however, it proved abridged and reordered.

Happily, it also proved almost completely winning. Temirkanov’s Pas de deux was an overly muscular, solemn orgy, but the rest of the dances moved gracefully and directly, some exaggerated Viennese hiccups in the Waltz of the Flowers notwithstanding. The orchestra provided transparent textures in clean, cohesive playing.

The exceptions were almost any solo for the cello section. Perhaps because the end pins transfer more of the instruments’ sound to the floor, where the microphones are arrayed, moments like the entrance in the Pas de deux exploded with artificial, obtrusive power.

The titular soloist, British pianist Stephen Hough, brought a very real measure of power to the familiar duties of Rachmaninoff’s Second Concerto. Though he split a few keys in the more athletic passages, Hough made the ritual seem welcomingly fresh, with supple phrasing that provided emotional nuance without bathos.

Temirkanov, who works without a baton, is a genial podium personality who seems genuinely liked by the Philharmonic. He kept things moving nicely, certainly not shrinking from the big expressive statements, but enforcing a supportive accompaniment for Hough.

Attendence: 11,911.