Pair Breeze in Debuts at the Hollywood Bowl

Debut appearances mark this second week of the 2001 Hollywood Bowl season. Tuesday, a conductor from the Netherlands, Lawrence Renes, mounted the podium of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the first time, while young but veteran violinist Kyoko Takezawa made a belated debut playing the Tchaikovsky Concerto.

In several ways, it was a breezy performance. Cool, gentle winds visited the outdoor amphitheater. Renes pushed forward Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony, the other half of this program, sensibly: He and the orchestra let its angst speak articulately but undisturbingly. Takezawa combined imperturbability and brilliant virtuosity seamlessly.

For whatever reasons--climatic conditions? engineering?--the Philharmonic’s sound emerged clear but overloud throughout this evening, not painfully overamplified but turned up, a little unnatural.

The clarity, however, flattered the performers. The Philharmonic proved tightly balanced and in fine form for the deep and exposed demands of Shostakovich’s cathartic Tenth, delivering a broad range of colors and dynamics.

Renes encouraged but did not intrude on the superiority of their playing. All the woodwind soloists shone: Flutist Anne Diener Zentner, oboist David Weiss, clarinetist Michele Zukovsky, bassoonist David Breidenthal, horn principal William Lane.

Facing the rigors of Tchaikovsky’s exacting piece, Takezawa looked cool and unfazed. She sailed through the technical hurdles and made beautiful music at every opportunity. For once, the places where the composer broke into song overshadowed the display passages. Renes and the orchestra proved solid collaborators.