Tousle-haired and thin, Khachatryan rose easily to every acrobatic challenge, playing with glowing tone and, when permitted to, sensitivity. If he can make this gaudy concerto sound musically significant, he will have no problem with greater works. There was a roaring ovation after the first movement and a standing O at the end; the violinist will have fans lining up for tickets when he returns next season to play with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Bernard Haitink.
Tortelier is the son of the great cellist Paul Tortelier, and he must have felt very emotional conducting in Symphony Hall; his father was principal cellist of the BSO in the 1930s. With his aureole of white hair, he was like a conductor from central casting. While his work is not about deep insight, it's musical, experienced, fiery, and theatrical; several times he levitated from the podium.
The London Philharmonic is a superb orchestra in which young women outnumber gray-haired men, an augury of the future. To ears educated by James Levine, refinement of detail was sometimes lacking, which wasn't the orchestra's fault. But in works by Britten (''Simple Symphony), Mozart (Symphony in A, K. 201) and Strauss (''Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks"), the orchestra played with elegance, balanced sound, and disciplined virtuosity.
