Norrington, Philharmonic Produce Measured Program

Sir Roger Norrington is often thought of as a controversial figure, a man giving the classical music world a wake-up call by scouring away years of fusty tradition and reinvigorating the masterworks through scholarly refurbishment and untainted reexamination.

But Thursday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, it was Norrington who needed the wake-up call. He slogged through performances of Berlioz, Chopin and Smetana with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, beating time with the enthusiasm of a man waiting for a bus. He even occasionally conducted with his left hand casually ensconced in his left pocket.

Such nonchalance would be no big deal if the resulting sounds had any vitality, but such was not the case. Though the Philharmonic played well, the music making was limp and characterless, minus an interpretive stance.

At least Norrington wasn’t in the way. His lack of imposition allowed the Philharmonic to play in a relaxed and fluid manner, with an attractive, warm timbre. What’s more, his tinkering with the ensemble’s seating gave a clarity and presence to the sound not always apparent in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

But, in terms of the conductor’s contributions, that was about it.

Berlioz’s “Le Corsair” Overture played itself, emerging in an orderly manner, logical in tempo.

Three pieces from Smetana’s nationalistic cycle, “Ma Vlast,” suffered more. In “Vysehrad,” “From Bohemia’s Woods and Fields” and “The Moldau,” the phrasing lacked direction, shape, tautness and elegance--the music rolled along oafishly.

Emanuel Ax was the soloist in Chopin’s First Piano Concerto, in a performance only intermittently engaging. Always a remarkable technician, Ax gave a demonstration of well-regulated, well-spoken and well-projected pianism. But he showed little temperament; most of the Romantic poetry in the piece emerged bland. The slow movement was better, with Ax delving into some genuine push and pull with the tempo.