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Denève gives Philadelphia Orchestra patrons another round of Guillaume Connesson

Stephane Denève conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in French composer Guillaume Connesson's likable "Flammenschrift." Next week, they'll do another of his works.

Philadelphia Orchestra principal guest conductor Stéphane Denève, photographed at Wednesday’s Philadelphia Orchestra performance.
Philadelphia Orchestra principal guest conductor Stéphane Denève, photographed at Wednesday’s Philadelphia Orchestra performance.Read moreCourtesy Philadelphia Orchestra

His devotion to John Williams, for one, is the gift that keeps giving — most recently in Wednesday's special program benefiting the orchestra musicians' pension fund, with composer and conductor sharing the podium. But the 47-year-old French composer Guillaume Connesson?

Ostensibly a tribute to Beethoven, Flammenschrift owes more to 20th-century composers Albert Roussel and Arthur Honegger, and shows Connesson at his most exciting. But because the piece doesn't tap into the composer's distinctive gift for melody, it's not his most satisfying. The music colorfully surges all over the place with short, punchy motifs (similar to Beethoven, though not as interesting) but ultimately seems busy without being edgy, like Christopher Rouse without mania.

It's clever, accomplished, and has learned well from past composers — maybe a little too well. The ending almost revisits the concluding moments of Ravel's La Valse, suspense techniques and all. And with La Valse ending the concert, Flammenschrift faced an unflattering comparison.

Though Ravel's music seems to depict no less than old-world Europe waltzing its way into collapse after  World War I, Flammenschrift just gave you an orchestral effect that you could mindlessly applaud, especially as the Philadelphia Orchestra gave it the concert's best performance.

And the rest of the program? Problems here and there in the orchestra were apparent, though minor. La Valse seemed under-rehearsed, with some muddy inner voices — always obvious in Ravel — though the closer the piece hurtled toward the ruined gentility of its conclusion, the more clean and committed the performance was, achieving an appropriately splashy conclusion.

Russian violinist Vadim Repin stood in for Hilary Hahn, who was originally scheduled to play the Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1. In contrast to Hahn, Repin has never been the most technically sturdy player out there (and felt more fallible than usual on Thursday), though his depth of understanding makes his performances something I always seek out.

His playing of the concerto's opening pages — among Prokofiev's most magical — was a pretty special moment. From there, Repin was gentlemanly, observing the piece with respect rather than intense engagement. That in itself is a virtue, though not a crowd-pleasing one.

Repin is best with more mature works. Prokofiev was in his mid-20s when he wrote this piece, which may explain why this concerto isn't among those in his discography.

The program is repeated at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Kimmel Center. Tickets: $44-$163. Information: 215-893-1999 or philorch.org.