TRADING PLACES SALONEN CONDUCTS N.Y. PHILHARMONIC FOR FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS; MARRINER GUESTS WITH L.A.PHIL.

Byline: David Mermelstein Correspondent

On Thursday night, Esa-Pekka Salonen led the premiere of his piano concerto with Yefim Bronfman as soloist. Only he wasn't conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic -- he was, rather, leading the New York Philharmonic, his first appearance with that rival band in 20 years. Yet our primary orchestra was playing just the same, under the baton of the feisty Neville Marriner, a robust 82.

The program couldn't have been more conventional: the overture to Rossini's opera ``The Italian Girl in Algiers,'' Mozart's Violin Concerto No.5 (``Turkish'') and Mendelssohn's Symphony No.3 (``Scottish''). But if you're looking for the perfect concert by which to introduce a friend or child to classical music, you couldn't do much better. Besides, though the music making was mixed, the music itself was first-rate.

The highlight by far was an exceptionally vivid account of the Mendelssohn symphony. Brilliantly executed, the performance was distinguished by slowly mounting power, lushness and rich evocation. Marriner proved himself a true alchemist in blending the brasses and woodwinds, so that the former never overwhelmed the latter. Moreover, the whole reading was characterized by a Romantic sweep that one rarely hears when Salonen is on the podium.

That sound was given full voice in the work's middle, with surging strings in the second movement and a dug-in heft in the third movement. Yet there was plenty of lightness, too -- especially from principal woodwind players Ariana Ghez (oboe), Michele Zukovsky (clarinet) and Anne Diener Zentner (flute). The contrast was stimulating.

Marriner's account was stately at times, but it was never dull. The apex came with the introduction of the finale's majestic second theme. And as the work came to its conclusion, the brasses sounded unusually burnished, their clarion call filling the hall with the sort of uplift that sends audiences out the doors with feet not quite touching pavement.

It did, however, take Marriner and the orchestra some time to reach that point. The Rossini overture, which opened the program, was too carefully played.

Tautly performed and an excellent showcase for the Philharmonic's woodwinds (it really was their night), it needed more spring.

The Mozart concerto was the evening's big disappointment, mostly because the soloist, Philharmonic concertmaster Martin Chalifour, seemed nervous. His tentativeness left strange gaps in musical corners that should have been tightly joined. In general, his phrasing was unimaginative, and many of the work's felicities were rushed rather than savored. What should have sounded spontaneous emerged instead as deliberate. The finale proved particularly ungratifying, lacking any drama.

To his credit, Chalifour used his own cadenzas. Only then, when he alone was playing, did he take a more relaxed and interesting approach. Even his tone had more bloom. The orchestra fared better than the soloist. Along with his near-contemporary Colin Davis, Marriner is a legendary Mozartean, and he and the orchestra offered graceful and focused support.

NEVILLE MARRINER CONDUCTS THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC, WITH VIOLINIST MARTIN CHALIFOUR - Three stars

Where: Guest conductor Neville Marriner leads the Philharmonic in music by Rossini, Mozart and Mendelssohn.

When: 2 p.m. today.

Tickets: $15-$135. [phone]. www.laphill.com.

In a nutshell: Marriner brings an old hand's experience, and some greatly appreciated vitality, to familiar fare.