Some people take pictures when they travel, others take along a sketch book, while others document their travels in a journal. But for Edward Elgar and Richard Strauss, the Italian villages along the Mediterranean filled with people who love food, wine and life inspired them to do what they did best: write music.

        At Friday's Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concert, their Italian-inspired works were featured along with two guests, violinist Lara St. John and conductor Carlos Kalmar.

        Close to their homelands (England and Germany, respectively), Italy was an ideal getaway for European composers seeking creative inspiration via landscapes and nature. Elgar wrote the concert's opener, In the South, while spending a winter in the southern town of Alassio.

        Not exactly Italian in its sound — the piece begins with an powerful overture that features a robust brass section. Guest conductor Mr. Kalmar's passionate, intricate conducting-style enhanced the individual sections. Principal viola player Marna Street's solo was a tender story told on her instrument — a calm, patient rendering in the middle of a storm of sound.

        Violinist Ms. St. John performed a blazing interpretation of Max Bruch's Concerto Number 1 in G minor for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 26.

        The first movement, “Allegro moderato,” is like a technical obstacle course beginning with a series of double and triple stops and string crossings. Many violin players can learn how to play — and master — these impressive, difficult moves. What makes Ms. St. John a world-renown violinist at the age of 28 is in her phrasing — her artistic interpretation of the work.

        As she began a passage on an open string — and held it until she cued Mr. Kalmar — she showed a wonderful sense of timing. It was in the holding back, then moving forward (done by establishing an excellent communication with the orchestra and conductor) that Ms. St. John created and carried a sense of excitement throughout the work.

        Richard Strauss' Aus Italien, opus 16, is a work probably not performed enough. The third movement, “On the Shore at Sorrento,” featured a particularly lush first violin section, and the fourth movement, “Folk Life of Naples,” revealed an orchestra poised for a piece with a little bit of everything.

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