MUSIC

The Los Angeles Philharmonic launched its Japan concert tour Sunday with a program of music not often performed in that country, including a piece by American composer Aaron Copland. The audience--nearly filling the 2,000 seats of Tokyo’s Suntory Hall at prices ranging from the equivalent of about $37 to $97--especially liked the program opener, Brahms’ Symphony No. 3. But applause was strong, too, for two pieces heard less often in Tokyo: Copland’s Clarinet Concerto (with Philharmonic principal Michele Zukovsky as soloist) and Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloe,” Suite No. 2. The orchestra also is presenting three other programs in Japan, including works by Berlioz, Richard Strauss and Shostakovich. Conductor Andre Previn said Japanese organizers chose the selections from a list offered by the orchestra, but that Japanese audiences “tend to be conservative.” “They were wonderful,” said one listener, Takayuki Suzuki, after the concert. “I especially like the modernness of the selections.”