Conductor John Morris Russell joked with the audience attending Sunday evening's Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concert at Riverbend.

        The conductor said he could see some black T-shirts and black leather pants in the audience for the “Classic Heavy Metal” program, part of the “Sundaes with the Symphony” concert series.

        Aerosmith, Mr. Russell told the small crowd, was not on the program. Heavy metal — in this case, meant a repertoire of works featuring the CSO's mighty brass section as well as a brass soloist — trumpeter Rolf Smedvig.

        Brass fanfare began the concert opener, Dmitri Shostakovich's Festive Overture, Op. 96.

        Composed after the death of Joseph Stalin, the piece is perhaps Shostakovich's jubilant cry of victory after the years of censorship during Stalin's reign.

        The orchestra sounded strong. In a work that doesn't seem to rest, sections played off one another with remarkable balance, and the dynamic crescendo made for an ending with great impact. Passages with racing tempos — in particular in the violin and woodwind sections — were played with fluidity and clarity.

        Joining the orchestra for Johann Nepomuk Hummel's Concerto in E-Flat Major for Trumpet and Orchestra, Mr. Smedvig displayed the laid back stage presence found in a self-assured master musician.

        His first notes of the first movement, “Allegro con spirito”, sounded like liquid velvet. Mr. Smedvig's tone is rich and regal, but because his phrasing is also razor-sharp, he is able to play with great subtlety. And he truly shared the stage with the orchestra. In parts he didn't play, he bobbed his head enthusiastically with whatever section was soloing, back turned to the audience.

        After ending the Hummel concerto to thunderous applause, Mr. Smedvig told the audience he'd play “Carnival of Venice”, a piece written by a composer with a Cincinnati connection — Herbert L. Clarke.

        Technically challenging with difficult runs, Mr. Smedvig played the work with ease. And earned a standing ovation.

        He returned after intermission, piccolo trumpet in hand, for Giuseppe Torelli's Concerto in D Major for Trumpet, Strings, and Continuo.

        Mr. Smedvig's playing continued to be first-rate. Both the first and third movements showed a strong sense of timing — as he exchanged solos with the orchestra. The second movement, “Adagio,” has no trumpet solo. Instead, the orchestra — here a chamber-sized ensemble — played contrasting, spiraling melodies.

        In 1924 — the year he wrote The Pines of Rome, Ottorino Respighi was considered a cutting-edge composer, and like some new music today, his work wasn't always well received or understood.

        The Pines of Rome calls for a specific recording of actual birds to be played — something that was unheard of at the time. The first movement, “The Pines of the Villa Borghese,” includes dissonant sounds from the trumpets. A second brass section was added to the fourth movement, “The Pines of the Appian Way,” which, at Sunday's concert, played facing the orchestra in the pavilion.

        The second movement, “The Pines Near a Catacomb,” featured subtle, earthy moments from the cello section while woodwinds wove an atmospheric melody above them.

        It may not have been a heavy metal concert, but the CSO rocked, nevertheless.

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