MUSIC REVIEW : Welser-Most Pushes Three Pieces Toward Mainstream

The Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Franz Welser-Most served as strong advocates Friday night at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for three musical works that hover just outside the border of the standard repertory.

The Austrian conductor in particular acted as if the right performance might just push any of these pieces--Mozart’s Symphony No. 31, “Paris;” Hindemith’s 1940 Cello Concerto; and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7--fully into the mainstream of our concert life. Would that all performances were so determined and stirring.

Indeed, the absence of such conviction in other performances of the Dvorak Symphony (acknowledged in books, if not in concert halls, as a masterpiece) is probably the best explanation for its relative neglect. The piece isn’t weak when the spirit is willing. Welser-Most gave to the symphony a robust and occasionally brazen account that fully captured the dark, tempestuous nature of the music. The way he needled at details and prodded at musical lines kept the heat on. Even his delicate, elegant manner with a lyrical impulse had an excited undertone to it--a breathlessness, a rapid heartbeat.

The Philharmonic responded avidly and, texturally clear and rhythmically pointed, avoided worried or bombastic playing.

Welser-Most opened with the little three-movement “Paris” Symphony, and practically redefined it. Recognizing that this is one of those rare Mozart scores almost entirely non-vocal in its musical inspiration, he stressed the steely brilliance of its instrumental writing. No rococo daintiness or drawing-room manners here. With gutsy fortes and huge contrasts, parts of it became close to heroic Beethoven.

The rarely aired Hindemith Concerto was revived with the help of associate principal cellist Daniel Rothmuller. Typically Hindemithian in its impressive bustle and muscular counterpoint, the work also manages moments of tender melody, playfulness and exotic color rare for this composer. Nevertheless, the argument sometimes loses focus and the fray comes too close to note spinning. It is difficult to tell, for instance, where the cello is the main order of business or subsidiary, a problem exacerbated on this occasion by poor balances. Rothmuller gave a steady, sometimes valiant account of the solo part and Welser-Most accompanied with dazzle. Once was enough, though.