The sun may never set on the brilliance of Mozart.

Recent anniversaries of his life and death (1756-1791) in 1991 and 2006 may have brought more public attention to Wolfgang, but how famous can you get? The music of the Austrian wunderkind turned master composer remains so ever-present and popular, you almost can't go a day without hearing some of it somewhere (especially if you have young children). The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra presented a subscription concert last night at Heinz Hall devoted entirely to Mozart -- something it does rarely, even for the likes of Beethoven. And next week, the PSO comes right back with two more Mozart works.

To some, and several people whose opinions I admire, this is overkill. Still others find Mozart in general emotionally distant and too calculated. But Mozart, who died so young, gets better with age. Countless times someone has told me how much more they appreciate the grace and splendor of Mozart as they grow older. And if performed with energy, there is drama and emotion in excess.

Last night, however, conductor Pinchas Zukerman largely didn't supply that energy, and centered on the music's shimmering surface to the detriment of its captivating depths. It sounded as if Zukerman had bought into the perfection myth of Mozart. While he was a staggering talent who couldn't write awful music even when he tried (witness his "A Musical Joke"), Mozart was human and his music needn't be overproduced. With Zukerman, there is a sheen of perfection over the music, compressing the extremes of dynamics and sometimes even the elan of the music. He focuses too greatly on polishing the elegant exterior -- the drenching of melodies -- than revealing the substantive layers and searching quality of Mozart's music. It's largely a matter of personal taste, but I feel this darker side is what makes Mozart so appealing.

The result is an Overture to "Cosi fan tutte" that didn't give much indication it was an opera overture. Zukerman all but suppressed the inherent musical drama.

Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major also suffered from this glossy approach. With mood -- and modal -- swings throughout, it is a work also propelled by drama. Many have lauded the operatic nature of its middle movement, which Zukerman conducted like it was a lieder recital. Luckily, he was joined by a pianist whose sleek tone was a felicitous fit for the piece.

Benjamin Hochman, making his PSO debut, displayed the sort of Mozartean touch and clean tone that you can't teach (and he has been taught by some of the world's best, such as Claude Frank, Richard Goode and Mitsuko Uchida). The Israeli pianist played with attention to line, patience in phrasing (especially in cadenzas) and some of the best trills I have heard. One sublime passage in the first movement had Hochman echoing himself exquisitely, and he switched intuitively from melancholy to upbeat in that temperamental middle movement.

Zukerman, after all these decades of conducting, perhaps is still best when he has the fiddle in hand. In a apt selection of four movements from the "Haffner" Serenade (so that it cleverly approximated a violin concerto) he did both. His playing was too sweet for me, but there were moments of undeniable verve.

Ultimately, this was Mozart celebrated with scintillating sound. But the composer's music has captivated through the ages for more than just its surface splendor.

The program repeats tonight at 8 and tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.