AX'S PIANO A BIT CHOPPY.

Byline: David Mermelstein Correspondent

Pianist Emanuel Ax's recital at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Monday night was a study in contrasts. Light and dark, sunshine and shadow, passion and reticence were present in abundance. So, also, was a vexing combination of good and bad pianism.

Ax, 51, is a much-loved figure at this stage in his impressive career, but his playing has never been to everyone's taste. Other pianists are more fervid, brainy and introspective. Yet Ax represents a golden mean. His repertory is wide-ranging, with Mozart, Chopin and Brahms and more modern music among his enthusiasms.

Monday's concert contained a touch of the unexpected. Schubert's B-flat major Sonata (D. 960), the sole work on the program's second half, wasn't too much of a surprise, but the Debussy and Bach pieces that began the evening were.

Debussy is all about atmosphere and color and tone; Bach, of course, is all about shape, order and rigor. Ax stirred the mix by inserting Bach's Partita No. 1 in B-flat major (BWV 825) between the two sets of Debussy's ``Images.''

The first set of the ``Images'' started splendidly. Ax filled the hall with vibrant color. his technique solid, his tone limpid. But his playing soon drifted toward the dull, and his rainbow hues became monochromatic.

In the Partita, the pianist offered a similarly delicate sound but employed no pedal. The result, alas, seemed like enervation masquerading as concentration. The playing lacked dash. Charitable souls might call such a performance ``highly personal.''

Ax's return to Debussy proved a tonic. His almost perfumed playing was rife with the kind of color this music demands. His tone was suddenly liquid, and his efforts very focused. Near the music's end, he may have paid too much attention to dynamic shifts, but the encounter was remarkably pleasurable.

In the Schubert, where other pianists find only the inconsolable, Ax brought ebullience and enthusiasm. His tone was aptly bright, though properly weighted when it needed to be. The audience pleaded for encores, but the pianist rightly refused them. Even a sweet rendition of this sonata must be imbued straight, no chaser.