SALONEN PRESENTS LUDWIG IN NEW LIGHT.

Byline: David Mermelstein Correspondent

The Los Angeles Philharmonic calls Esa-Pekka Salonen's survey of Beethoven's symphonies Beethoven Unbound, but perhaps Beethoven Unleashed is a more fitting title. For these are fierce accounts, beautifully played, to be sure, but full of unbridled energy and rhetorical vigor.

Beethoven Unbound commenced at the start of this season and after a long hiatus resumed last weekend, with a performance of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, a work repeated on tonight's program, along with the Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, which will be performed with the Eighth Symphony on Sunday. Also on Sunday's program is Anders Hillborg's ``Eleven Gates,'' an L.A. Philharmonic commission that received its premiere Thursday night.

Hillborg, a Swedish composer and friend of Salonen, was present for the premiere, and in a question-and-answer session with the conductor made it clear that he eschews labels, either for himself or his music. That's not surprising when one considers that his piece was completed well before it was titled. The 11 subtitles he's given the work's various sections -- Suddenly in the Room with Chattering Mirrors, Confused Dialogues with Woodpecker and Toy Pianos on the Surface of the Sea among them -- are certainly freewheeling and at least partly tongue-in-cheek.

The music itself is scored for a substantial ensemble, with an especially varied assortment of percussion instruments, including car horns, glass harmonica and Peking opera gong.

Salonen, in his remarks from the stage, described it as ``Dali-esque,'' and there's no question that ``Eleven Gates,'' which runs about 20 minutes, is rife with episode. Listen closely and you'll hear whispers of Richard Strauss, Stravinsky and even Gershwin. Yet it all hangs together with consummate craftsmanship and elemental originality. Indeed, this piece is so engaging, I was sorry to hear it end -- surely the ultimate compliment.

Framing ``Eleven Gates'' were Beethoven's Eighth and Seventh symphonies. Beethoven's symphonies have long been rudimentarily divided into odd- and even-numbered groups -- the odd perceived as being the more profound and muscular; the even, the sunnier and more relaxed.

But Salonen is obviously having none of that: His account of the Eighth was no less speedy and taut than his reading of the Seventh -- or the Fifth, as heard last weekend in a program pairing it with Witold Lutoslawski's Fourth Symphony, a piece the Philharmonic virtually owns. Indeed, in Salonen's hands, the Eighth's first movement was practically martial.

Salonen has taken knocks over the years for his Beethoven.

In truth, there is much to like. The orchestra has never been in better shape technically. And the cohesion and brawn Salonen has coaxed from his clearly willing players in these concerts is beyond impressive -- it is marvelous. The textures here are lean, the lines taut, the energy visceral.

Granted, not everyone will feel that all this excitement makes up for an absence of majesty, lyricism and rumination, qualities these performances don't emphasize. But there is nothing lightweight in these interpretations. They are not glib -- as Salonen's Beethoven could be in the past. Instead, they advance a vision that perceives these works in purely musical, as opposed to extra-musical, terms -- a view that owes a substantial debt to the period-performance movement of the past several decades.

Salonen presumably intended for audiences to hear Beethoven anew at these concerts. If so, he has succeeded mightily.

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN CONDUCTS THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC - Three and one half stars

What: Salonen and the orchestra resume Beethoven Unbound, coupling Beethoven's symphonies and modern music.

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

When: 8 tonight and 2 p.m. Sunday, with the Beethoven Unbound series continuing through May 21.

Tickets: $15 to $129. [phone] or www.laphil.com.

In a nutshell: Salonen brings fire and intelligence to music both familiar and new.