THE GYPSY SIDE OF DISNEY HALL.

Byline: David Mermelstein Correspondent

PLAYFULNESS AND abundant energy were the hallmarks of Thursday's Los Angeles Philharmonic concert, the first of two programs led over the next two weekends by Ivan Fischer, a Hungarian who regularly guest conducts the orchestra. But what made the evening special - beyond the obvious talents of the charismatic, clear-headed Fischer - was the presence of authentic Gypsy musicians on the Walt Disney Concert Hall stage.

Conceived by Fischer as a way of linking pieces in the standard repertory - Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, Sarasate's ``Zigeunerweisen,'' Brahms' Hungarian Dances - to the folk tunes that inspired them, the display proved galvanizing.

That was largely because the much-honored musicians whom Fischer chose for task - cimbalom player Oszkar Okros and fiddlers Jozsef Lendvay Sr. and Jr. - were masters of their respective instruments as well as engaging personalities whose warm and relaxed manner made accessible what might have been a dry, even academic exercise.

In another break with business as usual, Fischer spoke to the audience (via a much-improved but not perfect amplification system) about the music before it was played. He proved an amiable, lucid and frequently funny guide and started the program with a traditional Gypsy tune played by Okros and the elder Lendvay.

The Gypsy violin's distinctive voice comes from how the instrument is played. Slides from note to note and an unapologetically indulgent style are characteristic. The cimbalom, an uncommon presence in the concert hall, is another matter. The surprisingly large instrument - played with small padded mallets and looking much like a giant Autoharp on thick piano legs - belongs intrinsically to the folk world.

Once such sounds were in the crowd's head, Fischer engineered something of a shotgun wedding, uniting the Philharmonic first with Okros, improvising cadenzas in Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1, and then with the elder Lendvay, who inserted an authentic Gypsy tune into the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3. The effect was arresting but not entirely satisfactory musically, for it displayed the soloists' outsize talents at Liszt's expense.

Far more effective, if less unusual, was the performance of the once- ubiquitous ``Zigeunerweisen,'' or ``Gypsy Airs,'' in which the dynamic solo part was taken by the younger Lendvay, a concert violinist schooled by his father in Gypsy musical traditions. The young fiddler offered ample folk feeling and virtuosic flash in equal measure, and his conviction could hardly have been surpassed.

He was then joined by his father for what was effectively a scheduled encore, a meltingly beautiful version of Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 11, arranged by Fischer for two violins and orchestra.

Such fun and games were banished in the program's second half, when Fischer led the orchestra in an exhilarating reading of Brahms' First Symphony. Gone were the soloists and the Gypsy music. And if connections were meant to be drawn between the symphonic literature and European folk traditions, they went unmentioned.

But why quibble about what was missed when so much was present? In an almost breathless account of a familiar score, Fischer seamlessly combined disparate episodes to achieve a cohesive and compelling whole, sacrificing neither tonal security nor balance for propulsion. The orchestra, largely sidelined in the concert's first half, came into its own here: the woodwinds especially plangent, the trombones sounding heavenly, and concertmaster Martin Chalifour producing shimmering tones, perhaps in anticipation of his soloist's role at next week's concerts.

IVAN FISCHER CONDUCTS THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC - Three and one half stars

What: Guest conductor Ivan Fisher leads the orchestra and Gypsy soloists in music of Liszt, Sarasate and Brahms.

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

When: 8 tonight.

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

In a nutshell: Authentic folk performers and a charismatic Hungarian conductor bring winning vivacity to a program of Gypsy-influenced concert music.