MUSIC IS MOVING WITH THE L.A. PHIL.

Byline: David Mermelstein Correspondent

The Los Angeles Philharmonic's concert on Thursday, the last of four programs featuring Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, proved a study in contrasts.

For starters, you could measure the ebullience of two Richard Strauss tone poems (``Don Juan'' and ``Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks'') against the poise of Mozart's Fourteenth Piano Concerto and the astringency of Gyorgy Kurtag's ``... quasi una fantasia ...'' - or you could compare the vast forces required for both Strauss works with the reduced forces used for the Mozart and Kurtag. You could even note the differences in the placement of the players: the traditional clustering for Strauss and Mozart as opposed to choirs of instruments dispersed throughout Disney Hall for Kurtag.

But the most marked contrast may have been between the boldness of the Philharmonic's playing, led by a hyper-engaged Esa-Pekka Salonen, and reticence of Andsnes' efforts. Last week, the pianist staked great claims to the Romantic territory that is Grieg's well-known Concerto. Yet on this program, he at times seemed almost to vanish from the sonic radar.

In the Mozart, Andsnes offered a tidy but rarely spirited performance. And in the Kurtag, full of jangly charm and moody introspection, he could have been any proficient keyboard player with an interest in new music. That in particular was odd, because only two nights before, at the Philharmonic's first Green Umbrella concert of the season, he had given arresting accounts of some short solo pieces and a trio by this composer.

Whatever was keeping Andsnes in check, though, was clearly not affecting the orchestra, nor, especially, Salonen, who bounded onto the stage as if shot from a cannon for the concert opener, ``Don Juan.'' In keeping with the evening's unspoken theme - and as he did last week in another tone poem, Sibelius' ``Finlandia'' - the conductor made contrasts a high priority.

This performance was as visceral as music-making gets, with the ensemble extraordinarily taut. The brasses sounded especially golden, and the percussion, though by no means soft- spoken, was never blunt. This season, Salonen has rearranged the musicians' seating plan so that the first and second violins now flank him, and the cellos and double basses have been moved from his right to his left. To these ears at least, the effect is a deepening and attractive diffusion of the string sound, something very evident in both the ``Don Juan'' and the ``Till Eulenspiegel,'' which bookended the program with only slightly less vim.

Though the orchestra was substantially reduced for the Mozart (just two double basses and four cellos), there was plenty of spring in the Philharmonic's step. Indeed, it sometimes seemed as if Andsnes was supporting the orchestra rather than the other way around.

The Kurtag, a short work from the mid-1980s receiving its Philharmonic premiere, was written for Berlin's Philharmonie, which like Disney Hall is an acoustic and architectural showplace. With members of the orchestra placed everywhere from the organ loft to various terraces, as well as on the stage, Salonen employed the intense control that characterizes his best efforts. The result was a rich textural tapestry, with Andsnes providing an almost jazzy contribution.

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN CONDUCTS THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC, WITH PIANIST LEIFOVE ANDSNES - Three stars

What: Music by Richard Strauss frames pieces for piano and orchestra by Mozart and Kurtag.

Where: Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles.

When: 8 p.m. tonight and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets: $15 to $125. [phone] or www.laphil.com.

In a nutshell: Andsnes ends his two-week Philharmonic residency with a whimper, but, oh, how the orchestra plays.