Chamber Orchestra in Haphazard Concert

A sizable audience in the Irvine Barclay Theatre Thursday night heard the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in a generous program that didn’t sound completely rehearsed. Guest conductor Gilbert Varga led the unpolished performance optimistically, but without elevating its profile.

Perhaps when LACO music director-designate Jeffrey Kahane takes over next year, this orchestra will begin to assume a less amorphous sound, but at the moment, it’s simply characterless.

Varga’s sprawling agenda at the Barclay included Haydn’s Symphony No. 22 (“The Philosopher”), Ravel’s G-major Piano Concerto, Bartok’s Divertimento for Strings and Milhaud’s jazzy “Le Boef sur le Toit.” These works, all charming individually, didn’t complement or illuminate one another. They merely co-existed.

Haphazard playing, poor ensemble and frequent imbalances between instruments marked all the readings, despite some moments of cohesion and continuity. The 44-year-old British conductor seemed to know where he was going, yet failed to inspire the players.

Best and most energetic--until slovenliness captured the finale--was the Bartok work, long a specialty of this orchestra. Haydn’s “Philosopher” symphony proved solidly played, after a weak beginning, yet it never rose to the high spirits it actually contains.

Regular overplaying from the winds and some surprisingly pedestrian pianism from the usually splendid Louis Lortie made the Ravel concerto less than the sum of its parts; this turned out to be a musical picnic with some of the sandwiches left behind.

* L.A. Chamber Orchestra, led by guest conductor Gilbert Varga, with piano soloist Louis Lortie, plays this same program tonight at 8, Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, $12-$42. (800) 233-3123.