FLUTIST GALWAY IN RECITAL

Who can resist the twinkly-eyed charms of James Galway? Not many, judging from the reactions of a large crowd gathered to hear the Irish flutist in a Philharmonic-sponsored recital Tuesday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

From the moment he strode on stage, called out “Good evening” and cocked his head waiting for the audience’s unison reply, Galway had the crowd in his hip pocket. Throughout his five-part program, each witty and semi-witty introductory remark was met with waves of chuckles and applause. “I just love his Irish accent,” one patron was heard to gush.

Indeed, Galway does have an irresistible presence. And his obvious love for his work and his fans comes as a blast of fresh air in the normally stuffy atmosphere of the concert hall.

But there’s more here than mere mass-appeal, teddy-bear cuteness. With all the attention given Galway’s frequent forays into the safe world of the pop market, one can too easily forget that beneath the charm (on which he clearly capitalizes) lurks a flutist with faultless technique, interpretive depth and, yes, good taste.

Thankfully, “Annie’s Song” and other confections normally offered as “selections announced from the stage” were absent Tuesday. The Irishman didn’t even populate the program with the sort of Baroque bonbons Jean-Pierre Rampal always manages to unearth at his recitals.

Instead, Galway presented a serious, largely unhackneyed agenda that included works by three Czech composers and only a single obvious crowd-pleasing virtuoso piece, Doppler’s “Fantaisie Pastorale Hongroise.”

The most illuminating repertory choice turned out to be a Rampal-commissioned sonata by the contemporary Czech composer Jindrich Feld. The strikingly original perpetual-motion outer movements suggest an intriguing blend of Mendelssohn and Prokofiev. The dramatic central movement unleashes an incessantly pounding keyboard that easily thwarts the simultaneous tender musings of the flute (reminiscent of the slow movement of Beethoven’s G-major Piano Concerto).

Galway and his sensitive partner, Phillip Moll, gave an inspired and riveting performance that made one wonder why we haven’t heard this piece--or this composer --with more frequency.

The remainder of the recital was given to a transcription of Dvorak’s tuneful violin Sonatina, Martinu’s engrossing Sonata (like the Dvorak, composed in this country), an alternately dreamy and flashy “Fantaisie” by Georges Hue and the Doppler fluff as a program-closer. Whether the music spoke deeply or superficially, Galway and pianist Moll offered fully committed, perfectly balanced readings.

Encore time brought out the unbridled fun side of the flutist. It also brought out his tin whistle for a Henry Mancini jig, his Irish schmaltz with “Danny Boy,” and his love for showing off with “Flight of the Bumble Bee.”