Esa-Pekka Salonen and Philadelphia Orchestra make an hourlong Bruckner anything but tiresome

Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen was last seen wearing vividly-colored gloves — orange on right, blue on left, finger holes cut — for maximum visibility with New York Philharmonic musicians stationed all over the hall.

The point, here, is his strategy: Boulez’s Rituel last week at Lincoln Center and the Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 on Friday at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center both require plenty, modeled to their specific challenges — and Salonen delivered. Musical inspiration is all well and good but guest conductor Salonen made the difference between Bruckner being a series of hot moments, and holding it all together as a whole during its hourlong duration.

Best known as a Stravinsky-and-beyond conductor, Salonen has periodically dipped into the world-apart Bruckner in ways that can be welcome in their diversity or leave listeners silently screaming at Bruckner to make his mind.

This Symphony No. 4 (heard here in the Novak edition) is a piece that morphs between grandeur, hymns, heroics and folk dances — then revisiting everything all over again. As much as the piece is rooted in 19th-century Austrian Catholicism, the often-feverish expansiveness of the music leaves plenty of room for a seasoned conductor such as Salonen, whose well-engineered climaxes counted for much. As did his more subtle touches, such as super-clear transitions that allow the musical events to grow from each other with logic rather than labor.

Of course, the music also has apocalyptic rebellions. Fortissimos were reserved for moments when nothing else would do, such as putting to rest all of the hunting horns and galloping rhythms of the third movement. In contrast, hymnlike passages ended with a slight slowdown, implying an “Amen.” The Philadelphia Orchestra’s particularly transparent sound on this occasion made sure the music never grew tiresome.

Timpanist Don Liuzzi helped control the emotional temperature in long stretches of the symphony, maintaining tension with an underlying rumble. One could argue that Bruckner showcased the orchestra’s principal players more effectively than what opened the program, Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major, K. 297b.

Though its authorship raises doubts (solo parts are by Mozart, orchestration is by God knows who), that piece gets a fair amount of mileage with its congenial showcase for wind quartet. It’s all quite cute.

Generations of Philadelphia Orchestra principal player have kept the piece alive, in ensembles led by celebrated oboists including John de Lance (principal oboist 1954-1977) and Marcel Tabuteau (1915-1954).

Recordings don’t give a clear idea of the standard they maintained in those years, though the legendary Tabuteau was surprisingly demure, and poetically so.

On Friday, oboist Philippe Tondre was anything but demure and at times overshadowed his exemplary colleagues, clarinetist Ricardo Morales, bassoonist Daniel Matsukawa, and hornist Jennifer Montone.

The nature of the oboe writing encourages the spotlight, and Tondre’s tone quality is a marvel. But a piece like this requires strategy too — more along the lines of kid gloves.

The Philadelphia Orchestra program will be repeated on Oct. 18, 8 p.m. at Marian Anderson Hall. Tickets: $29.00-228.76. philorch.ensembleartsphilly.org