MUSIC REVIEW : Kout Makes Bowl Debut

The Los Angeles Philharmonic is enjoying a late-summer reprieve from its grueling al-fresco schedule this week. Nevertheless, business goes on as usual at Hollywood Bowl.

For three big concerts beginning tonight, the shell will be populated by the rapidly rising Seattle Symphony under Gerard Schwarz. For the little concert on Tuesday, the visiting honors fell to the ensemble that Schwarz had served as music director from 1978-86: the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

The guest conductor on this occasion originally was to have been Christoph Perick, who had performed similar duties last year. A back injury, however, has forced the German maestro to cancel all his current engagements, including “Cosi fan Tutte” at the Music Center next April.

In his place, the Chamber Orchestra engaged Jiri Kout, the Czechoslovakian maestro from Berlin, who happened to be in town preparing “Fidelio” for our opera company.

Kout (pronounced “Coat”) is a seasoned professional. He also happens to be a musician of discerning taste as well as a solid technician.

He doesn’t seem to care about being a showy personality on the podium--nothing wrong with that--and he isn’t equally persuasive in all challenges. Janacek’s “Kat’a Kabanova,” which he conducted here in 1988, suits him. Strauss’ “Rosenkavalier,” which he inherited from Carlos Kleiber at the Munich Festival, may not.

In the vast open spaces of the Bowl, he suggested that he enjoys a definite affinity for Mozart. He savors gentle accents, subtle dynamics and delicate balances. He avoids exaggeration. Although he favors brisk allegros and piquant prestos, he invariably stresses the value of lyrical grace when introspective contrast is wanted.

He did not--perhaps, given rehearsal limitations, could not--inspire the Chamber Orchestra to play with maximum confidence or precision at every turn. The string phrasing sometimes sounded tentative in moments of agitation. Statements that might have been elegantly polished occasionally emerged blurry. Still, the massed spirit remained willing.

Kout and company opened the agreeably brief program with the cheer of Mozart’s “Figaro” overture and continued with the sunny adventures of the Symphony No. 30. The evening ended happily with the relatively grandiose flourishes of the Symphony No. 39.

At showpiece time, just before intermission, Thomas Stevens appeared als Gast to toss off Joseph Haydn’s intricate Trumpet Concerto in E-flat. The Los Angeles Philharmonic principal--no night off for him--played with virtuosity that seemed all the more dazzling for its nonchalance.

Stevens’ tone remained bright, steady and flexible, no matter how circuitous the coloratura flight. He could offer object lessons in stylish bravura to many a bel-canto diva and divo.

The orchestra provided the soloist with sensitive, ever-attentive support. After all his years in the opera-house pit, Kout knows exactly when to lead and when to follow.

The audience, surprisingly large for so subdued an event, was officially tabulated at 11,291.