Violinist Gil Shaham and music director Giancarlo Guerrero opened the Sarasota Orchestra's Masterworks season Nov. 7–8 at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

The program paired Beethoven's Violin Concerto with Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 and opened with Lera Auerbach's Icarus.

This is Guerrero's second season leading the orchestra. Williams wrote that concertgoers "have already come to expect something special each time he steps on stage."

A theremin in the orchestra

Auerbach's Icarus retells the Greek myth of a boy who flew too close to the sun on wax wings. The orchestra opened the piece with what Williams described as "crackling kinetic energy," with driving cellos and pizzicato strings suggesting the construction of the wings.

The orchestration called for two harps, a contrabassoon, eight string basses and a theremin. Williams noted the electronic instrument blended so seamlessly into the ensemble that "its distinctive voice was sometimes difficult to isolate."

Shaham's Beethoven

Shaham, performing Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Major, entered after four soft timpani notes and a long orchestral introduction. Williams wrote that he "managed the considerable technical challenges of the concerto with a graceful brilliance that never rose to showmanship."

The performance stood out for what Williams called "purity of tone, elegant phrasing and an effortless command of the violin's highest register."

Prokofiev's wartime symphony

Prokofiev composed his Fifth Symphony during World War II, describing it as "a hymn to free and happy Man, to his mighty powers, his pure and noble spirit," according to BroadwayWorld.

Williams wrote that Guerrero drew out contrasts between heavy brass and floating woodwinds, and that the second movement's "bouncing energy" was "matched by Guerrero himself on the podium." The finale's sweep brought the audience to its feet.

Throughout the evening, Williams wrote, Guerrero's "effusively expressive conducting found its match in musicians who transformed his physical energy into performances of remarkable shape, vitality and emotional depth."

Coming up

The Sarasota Orchestra presents Chamber Soirée: In the Mix at 4 p.m. Nov. 15 at Holley Hall. That program features works by Arnold Bax, Florence Price, Andy Akiho and Charles Gounod. Tickets and season information are available at sarasotaorchestra.org or by calling 941-953-3434.