WOLFGANG COMES ALIVE.

Byline: David Mermelstein Theater Critic

WE OFTEN mistakenly take the good - or even the very good - for granted. In our search for the inspired or novel, we can forget the plain virtue of a job well down. So it's no insult to characterize Tuesday night's Los Angeles Philharmonic concert at the Hollywood Bowl as an evening in which nearly everything went right, but at which a mood of competence, rather than excitement, dominated.

The all-Mozart program of two late symphonies, the best-known early piano concerto and two concert arias was led by that paragon of modern Mozarteans, English conductor Neville Marriner, now 81. Those unfamiliar with his name will surely appreciate at least one of his credits: He was the conductor and music supervisor for the film ``Amadeus.''

With a reduced but still string-heavy Philharmonic, Marriner's interpretations were object lessons in the qualities we most associate with Mozart's music - grace, proportion, economy and beauty. And if spontaneity was occasionally lacking, there was never the sense that Marriner was leading on autopilot.

Indeed, in the symphonies that opened and ended the concert - the No. 35 (``Haffner'') and No. 39 - the conductor elicited well-articulated, admirably poised playing from the players, though their instruments did occasionally suffer from the outdoor dampness. He shaped phrases elegantly and shaded dynamics subtly. Especially beguiling was the third movement of Symphony No. 39, with clarinetists Lorin Levee and Monica Kaenzig in heavenly duet.

Variety came in the form of two young soloists making Bowl debuts, the rising pianist Jonathan Biss (son of Miriam Fried, a longtime Bowl guest artist) and soprano Marisol Montalvo. The singer brought two concert arias, both concerning thwarted love. In the first, ``Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!'' (``Dear God, Would That I Could''), she demonstrated an attractive tone marred by a pinched quality and mushy diction. But in the second, ``Ch'io mi scordi di te?'' (``To Forget You''), the most famous and elaborate of Mozart's self-standing arias, she rebounded, her enunciation more pointed, her sound more full-bodied, open and textured, and her manner more heartfelt.

Biss, just 25, joined her and the orchestra in the second aria, lending clean, fluid support, having already made his mark in Piano Concerto No. 9 (``Jeunehomme''). Piano tone is not ideally judged in the amplified confines of the Cahuenga Pass, but with that caveat, Biss seemed to have a light, crystalline tone, with a sensibility reminiscent of more old-fashioned keyboard players.

THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC CONDUCTED BY NEVILLE MARRINER - Three stars

What: In an all-Mozart program, one of the conductors most associated with his music does everything right, with help from pianist Jonathan Biss, soprano Marisol Montalvo and the L.A. Phil.

Where: Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood.

When: 8 tonight.

Tickets: $4 to $92, available at the Hollywood Bowl box office, Ticketmaster at [phone], or www.hollywoodbowl.com.