Every once in a while it's not a bad thing to just sit back and enjoy works that have, through no fault of their own, become standard bearers of that oft kitschy genre known as “classical pop.” You know, those pieces that have been performed so often that any self-respecting music critic would feel duty bound to ignore them in favor of more interesting fare. Well, maybe I ain't got no self respect, but I think “Classical Tuesdays: Bolero!” could blow the roof off the Hollywood Bowl — if it had a roof. Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts four unabashedly popular works that endure precisely because they are so original and exciting. The unique rhythms, layered instrumental coloring and Spanish mystique of Ravel's Bolero still captivate audiences after 81 years. And what can top Bizet's Carmen, with the exhilarating, driving energy of the “Toreador March,” or the languid sensuousness of the “Habanera?” Also on the program: the wild, exotic “Bacchanale” from Saint-Saens' Samson and Delilah, and Lalo's magnificently romantic Cello Concerto, performed by the legendary Lynn Harrell.

Tue., Sept. 1, 8 p.m., 2009

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