Hidden side of Russian Winter nicely revealed

The Columbus Symphony Orchestra’s second installment of the Russian Winter Festival, Friday night at the Ohio Theatre, was a monumental performance.

This weekend’s program is a formidable pair of works, Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. Music Director Rossen Milanov led the orchestra through these challenges adeptly.

Shostakovich composed his first violin concerto amid post-war Soviet censorship and kept it under wraps until political pressures had lessened. It is complex and stark with a vast emotional range.

Violinist Augustin Hadelich was the highlight of Friday night’s performance, bringing the right complexity and emotion to the work. From the first dispassionate notes of the concerto’s “Nocturne,” he commanded the stage with nuance and refinement.

Part of the magic of Hadelich’s performances is that, despite his artistic and technical dominance, he never overshadows his accompanying musicians. On the contrary, he draws them into an exquisite partnership.

Rachmaninoff likewise kept his second symphony under wraps: not because of political pressure, but the disastrous premiere of his first symphony. He was driven to prove he could produce a symphony with artistic merit, putting aside his dissatisfaction with the initial results of the second symphony and painstakingly reworking it into a major success.

The symphony is tremendous, at one hour, but Rachmaninoff develops his musical material to such an extent that it holds the listener’s interest.

Opening with heartfelt phrasing and bright winds, the first movement’s largo section slipped effortlessly into an allegro moderato that kept the same character, with turmoil occasionally breaking through the contemplative mood. The “Scherzo” second movement juxtaposed declamatory brass with spirited strings and crisp percussion.

The “Adagio” third movement contains some of Rachmaninoff’s best-known melodies. Milanov coaxed vulnerability out of the music, the woodwinds soared through their melodies and the strings responded with broad strokes of color.

The final “Allegro vivace’s” impulsion began in the first measure and never flagged, lending energy to the slower, quieter sections and building to another grandiose ending.

The concert will be presented again at 8 p.m. Saturday.