Joshua Bell at Verizon Hall

"He's so handsome." "He's so adorable."

I hear those comments frequently at Joshua Bell concerts. The violinist certainly makes a vivid impression with his casual black attire and his shock of brown hair covering half of his forehead. Whether this facade will foster his reputation as a major classical musician is another question.

Bell is a well-trained and serious artist. Although he looks younger, he is 44, having made his professional debut in 1982 with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Nevertheless, Bell almost became perceived as lightweight when he crossed over to projects like recording film scores and accompanying Kristin Chenoweth, who herself was an opera singer before she switched to Broadway and country.

One sign of Bell's determination to be taken seriously is his recent appointment as music director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the prestigious orchestra based not in any field but across from Trafalgar Square in London. Bell is only the orchestra's second music director since Sir Neville Marriner founded the orchestra in 1958.

Bell led the Londoners last week in Mozart and Beethoven symphonies from the first chair of the violin section. (Actually, he sat on a small padded bench next to the orchestra's concertmaster.) He gave cues with nods of his head and by leaning forward toward specific choirs of the orchestra. For the centerpiece of his program, he stood before the others as soloist in the Bruch Violin Concerto.

Mozart's boring side

From the first chords of the Mozart 25th Symphony, Bell and the orchestra played with vitality and volume. The Academy put only about 30 musicians on stage for the Mozart, but they sounded full-bodied. This was no effete Haydn-like presentation but rather a bold introduction to late Mozart with intimations of Beethoven.

The 25th Symphony, in fact, was Mozart's first attempt at a large-scale symphony and his first in a minor key. (The dramatic opening of the 25th was used in the film of Amadeus to show Antonio Salieri being carted off to an asylum.) Mozart used the poignancy of G minor here, and he returned to it once in his brief life, for his great Symphony No. 40.

Not everything in the 25th achieves that level of high intensity. The second movement, in particular, is unexceptional. It's hard to dislike Mozart, but this second movement shows why some of my friends find his music boring.

In the third movement, Mozart moves beyond the conventional minuet of his time to create the sound of a vigorous wind band, and the fourth movement features strong fortissimo chords. It's a fascinating look at Mozart in mid-career, and I'd love to hear a pairing of this and his 40th on a single program some day.

Beethoven on the cusp

But Bell's combination of Mozart's 25th with Beethoven's often neglected Fourth Symphony was an equally intelligent choice, because here was another composer on the path to future grand achievements.

Its slow introduction hearkens back to a convention of Haydn's, yet Beethoven here previewed the four notes he would use again for the opening of his mighty Fifth Symphony. The orchestra achieved soft gossamer effects. Then the Fourth bursts into catchy, playful melodies and ends with dazzling perpetual-motion effects. The orchestra's principal flute and bassoon made great impressions, and so did the tympanist, who unleashed modern-sounding crescendi.

In the Mozart and the Beethoven, Bell's interpretation was solid and dramatic— so much so that I look forward to hearing him lead a Beethoven symphonic cycle, something we normally wouldn't expect from any violin soloist.

Behind his back

The Max Bruch concerto found Bell in familiar territory. For this piece the number of players swelled to almost 50. Bell's playing of the romantic showpiece was vibrant and soulful. He used numerous upward slides with sensuous effect, and he always landed squarely on pitch.

Sometimes the orchestra grew reticent behind him, when his back was turned (literally), but its vigor returned when he jabbed toward the players with his bow and even shook his right fist in their direction.

Some of those gestures might have been for show, because Bell and this orchestra have collaborated for a decade and know each other well. Surely such an expert ensemble must have learned his intentions during rehearsals. Those viewpoints were smart and solid as Bell revealed a depth that even his most devoted fans had not expected.