Alicia de Larrocha is, quite simply, the grande dame of Spanish pianism. On Saturday, Ms. de Larrocha, a champion of Spanish piano music for more than 50 years, performed Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain with Jesus Lopez-Cobos leading the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

        She has quite a bit of history with this orchestra, having first appeared here in the 1969-70 season. In 1997, she was the soloist with the former music director, Mr. Lopez-Cobos, in the CSO's PBS debut, and accompanied the orchestra on a western United States tour.

        Her appearance on Saturday was the high point of the program, which included little-known works by Roberto Gerhard and Ernest Chausson.

        At 78, her playing is smooth, effortless and confident, and she captured the fragrant moods of the gardens, all the while projecting an air of elegance.

        Diminutive of stature and with equally small hands, the pianist barely moved as she summoned glistening colors, projected a beautiful line and tackled runs, glissandos and repeating-note figures seamlessly. The audience acknowledged her artistry with a standing ovation.

        The orchestra's collaboration, however, was not quite as seamless. Mr. Lopez-Cobos tended to hold back tempos as the soloist pushed ahead, the ensemble wasn't always together and entrances were tentative.

        The maestro led with more distinction in Chausson's Symphony in B-flat Major, not heard here in nearly four decades. Ernest Chausson is better known for his Poeme for violin and orchestra than his symphony. But it is an engaging piece that takes its cue from Franck and Wagner.

        Mr. Lopez-Cobos approached the slow movement, with its yearning Tristanesque chromaticism, with understated phrasing.

        The finale was well-paced and detailed; a highlight was the brass chorale in the conclusion.

        The program opened with Roberto Gerhard's Dances from Don Quixote, a suite from the composer's ballet (1941-50). The work is a rather strange hybrid of mild dissonances and Spanish rhythms. Its orchestration, often highlighting the piano, at times recalled Stravinsky.

        The performance might have been more successful had the rhythmic impulse been more taut, and had the slow movement not run out of steam.

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