MUSIC REVIEW : Temirkanov in Tchaikovsky Program

Given his successes in conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Hollywood Bowl in the past three summers--especially in the Russian repertory--one might have expected Yuri Temirkanov’s Tchaikovsky program in Cahuenga Pass to achieve heights of interpretive insight and musical probity.

Such was definitely not the case Thursday night when the Soviet musician, leading the Philharmonic in “Marche Slave,” the Violin Concerto and the “Pathetique” Symphony, proved again that he is an inconsistent leader who gets decidedly mixed results from this orchestra.

Apologists for Temirkanov might cite the brief rehearsal period alloted every Bowl concert as one excuse for the very strange--among other weirdnesses: overquick passages followed by overslow ones, the transitions between them sometimes accomplished in an instant--reading of the Sixth Symphony over which the conductor seemed to preside, shakily.

That may be one reason, but there have to be others, more mysterious.

The fact is, other conductors have, in the same amount of brief rehearsal, put together not only convincing but technically immaculate performances of this work. What one heard Thursday between 10 and 11 p.m. was not only hard to comprehend, but ragged and nervous--not one of the Philharmonic’s better nights.

Itzhak Perlman, appearing in the outdoor amphitheater for the third time in three nights, seemed to take Temirkanov’s manic/lethargic conducting in stride for most of the Violin Concerto.

The Israeli musician, who plays beautifully--if sometimes diffidently--at any speed, simply seemed to go with the flow, even when the flow threatened to stop. Among living violinists, probably none plays the Canzonetta more exquisitely, and this Perlman managed to do, again. He also put his own stamp on the finale, though the conductor stretched a couple of orchestral interludes to the breaking point.

The evening began with a heartfelt reading of “Marche Slave,” almost surprisingly straightforward in its appeal.

Attendance: 16,407.