Stephen Bishop Kovacevich

Late August: the season of doldrums at Hollywood Bowl. The parade of guest conductors in two-night stands, limited rehearsal time and the outdoor acoustic begin to take their toll on the L.A. Philharmonic. The orchestra sounds dull, plays roughly. Not so Thursday night.

Late August: the season of doldrums at Hollywood Bowl. The parade of guest conductors in two-night stands, limited rehearsal time and the outdoor acoustic begin to take their toll on the L.A. Philharmonic. The orchestra sounds dull, plays roughly. Not so Thursday night.

Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich has long been a pianist of acknowledged seriousness. At his London debut in 1961, his principal vehicle was Beethoven's "Diabelli" Variations; in Los Angeles appearances over the years, his programs have been nothing if not demanding.

A couple of hours off the plane from London, Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich seems perfectly sincere when he says: "If I had to do it all over again, I would devote my life to three things--tennis, conducting and the piano. In that order." Can he be serious? Can a pianist as highly regarded and outwardly successful as the 48-year-old Bishop-Kovacevich really long for other lives, in other fields?

A couple of hours off the plane from London, Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich seems perfectly sincere when he says: "If I had to do it all over again, I would devote my life to three things--tennis, conducting and the piano. In that order." Can he be serious? Can a pianist as highly regarded and outwardly successful as the 48-year-old Bishop-Kovacevich really long for other lives, in other fields?

Mozart will be a very audible presence with us at Hollywood Bowl this summer. On Saturday, the second of two preview week programs devoted to him and entrusted to conductor-pianist Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich proved a surprisingly enlivening and intimate affair. Yes, most of the 14,309 in attendence clapped between every movement, and the sticky blessings of malathion spraying were counted among the aerial intrusions.

Under the scrutiny of a challenging Beethoven program, as well as the gaze of a demilune sky, the Pittsburgh Symphony continued its weeklong engagement at Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday night. Stanislaw Skrowaczewski was again the controlling, commanding guest conductor of the touring Pennsylvania ensemble, which again gave a performance of solid instrumental values, mellow and cohesive sound and unshakeable balances.

As on Friday, the Saturday evening preview concert at Hollywood Bowl featured a soloist well-acquainted with the Cahuenga Pass stage who was joined by a reduced Los Angeles Philharmonic in presenting a Mozart program. And, as on the previous evening, one of the orchestra's assistant conductors presided over an alert and apparently well-rested ensemble.

We are familiar with Andrew Litton from three seasons at Hollywood Bowl, where the young conductor produced the mixed results not uncommon to music in the park. Thursday, he made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, fulfilling all the promises made outdoors. The centerpiece of the program was Beethoven's First Piano Concerto.

Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich, the expatriate--what else do you call a Californian who has lived in London for 31 years?--American musician, made his local conducting debut at Hollywood Bowl over the weekend. And did so more or less impressively. In Mozart programs, Friday and Saturday (also see below), B-K, if one can call him that, presided authoritatively over a reduced version of the Los Angeles Philharmonic both on the podium and from the piano.

Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich has long been a pianist of acknowledged seriousness. At his London debut in 1961, his principal vehicle was Beethoven's "Diabelli" Variations; in Los Angeles appearances over the years, his programs have been nothing if not demanding.

While local governments worry about drought-related water shortages, the La Jolla Chamber Music Society is facing a shortage of visiting orchestras next season. According to society executive director Neale Perl, the number of major orchestras touring the West Coast for the 1991-92 season has dried up to a single symphony--the Cleveland Orchestra--which caused the society to dissolve its 3-year-old downtown International Orchestra series.

This season the Los Angeles Philharmonic has been doffing its hat to American composers of our century--thanks to a sponsored cue from AT&T. But the courtesy has hardly represented much risk-taking. No mavericks in the image of Ives or Cage or Conlon Nancarrow have gotten a nod from the Music Center. Rather, we're hearing the school of professorial gentlemen--Pulitzer Prize winners who habitually attached themselves to Harvard, Yale and Princeton.