PREVIN, PHILHARMONIC AT PAVILION

Youth and first attempts were the unifying forces behind the program Andre Previn devised for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Thursday night.

Previn conducted Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony (that composer’s first, written when he was 26) and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1 (dating from his 19th year). Cristina Ortiz, the Brazilian pianist, appeared as soloist in Richard Strauss’ single-movement “Burleske,” which Richard II composed when he was 21 without pleasing his mentor, the powerful Hans von Buelow.

None of this youthful activity could properly be called frivolous, though the general effect was one of weightlessness. The most expansive example of these early efforts was easily the Shostakovich; few composers have ever so unmistakably defined their personal style in a first flight.

But for some reason not altogether clear, Previn’s reading of the work did not seem particularly definitive. It failed to tie up the varying components into a well-integrated whole. The transparent episodes in which the ideas were tossed from one part of the orchestra to another were neatly negotiated, but they were constantly obliterated by the overblown climaxes that immediately followed.

Nor was the conductor very mindful of visual impressions; he buried his head in the score for long stretches, and his expressive technique varied little from mood to mood, though it seemed to communicate clearly enough with the players.

The most eloquent moments of the performance were contributed by the solo players: Ronald Leonard (cello), Sidney Weiss (violin), Heiichiro Ohyama (viola), Lorin Levee (clarinet), Zita Carno (piano) and Mitchell Peters (tympani).

Strauss’ “Burleske” clearly contains the seeds that were later to flower in “Till Eulenspiegel,” “Don Quixote” and “Der Rosenkavalier.” It is not a profound piece of music, but it proved an engaging one as Ortiz carved out the tricky piano patterns with agile fingers, bouncy rhythms and an inordinate amount of twisting and squirming.

For Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony, the conductor took the composer’s title literally and cut down the size of the orchestra. The idea was valid, but the winds and brass too often overbalanced the slender strings. Still, when things went right, the playing was quite jolly.