On Tuesday Mr. Previn, who has held major artistic posts with ensembles like the London Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony, conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in Mozarts Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, leading from the piano, and Strausss Symphonia Domestica.
The concert began on a lackluster note with a soporific performance of the Mozart concerto, performed with a reduced ensemble. After a promising start, with vigorous orchestral playing, it soon descended into lethargy, with treacly textures and without any sense of drama or overall cohesion. Mr. Previn, playing his own cadenzas, performed with a singing tone but seemed to be struggling technically and often failed to project above the orchestra.
The richly hued performance of the Strauss after intermission was far more successful. The Philadelphia Orchestra, like many other arts groups, has been affected by the recession. It canceled a European tour and cut its administrative staff, and it currently lacks both an executive director and a music director.
To judge by this concert the turmoil has not affected the orchestras exemplary standards. The strings played with their trademark gorgeous sound in the Symphonia Domestica, in which Strauss evokes his home life by depicting chiming clocks, childrens games and a parental quarrel. (Strausss marriage was reportedly shaky when he wrote the work, which he dedicated to his wife and son.)
Mr. Previn elicited a fine performance from the Philadelphians, with immaculate woodwind playing. Their lively interpretation, aptly illuminating the details of the vast score, was rewarded with an enthusiastic audience response.
Andr Previns birthday series at Carnegie Hall is on April 22, will perform the premiere of his Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello and other works with the violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and the cellist Lynn Harrell.
