By Janelle Gelfand
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Paavo Jarvi stretched the finale to Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 with such relentless power and breadth, that at its finish, it exploded with the cheers and bravos of the Music Hall audience.

It wasn't so much the sheer visceral thrill of Shostakovich's Fifth that had the crowd on its feet Friday night, at the conclusion of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's season-opening concert, but the feeling that one had heard something truly extraordinary here. The orchestra played with the kind of precision not heard in at least two decades. Just as spectacular as the deafening climaxes were the orchestra's pianissimos. Jarvi made one listen to every note, and what resulted was a deeply involving and, ultimately, thrilling performance.

Jarvi ushered in his third season as CSO music director with help from Norwegian cellist Truls Mork, who gave an equally spectacular performance of Prokofiev's fiendish Sinfonia Concertante (Symphony Concerto), the evening's centerpiece. A work of symphonic proportions, it is as formidable for its large scope as for its technical demands.

The lanky cellist straddled his rare Montagnana cello and projected a big, robust tone and peerless intonation. He played with not merely technical brilliance and control, but his phrasing had a depth of emotion.

The second movement, a scherzo, was a breathtaking display of fireworks, with an impassioned cadenza. He captured the work's wide-ranging character, from the nostalgia of Prokofiev's plaintive melodies, to the biting quality of the grotesque marches.

Despite its length, it was mesmerizing. Jarvi, who has recorded this work with Mork, was a superb partner, and the orchestra echoed the mix of emotional intensity and spiky humor.

Noting that he was unable to perform for Jarvi's inaugural concert "because of the great tragedy of 9-11," Mork performed Song of the Birds by Pablo Casals as an encore.

Shostakovich's most popular symphony, composed under the duress of the Soviet era is often performed in a straightforward fashion, with a surge in tempo for the finale.

The first movement's opening was a clipped, brutal march, tempered by the extraordinary beauty of the second theme in the violins. Jarvi led the scherzo almost as if it were Mahler, full of detail, with dance-like solos and a grotesque quality to its waltz-like trio.

The slow movement unfolded with a solemn beauty, a breathtaking calm before the storm. The finale was adrenalin-charged, deliberate and relentless, a buildup of such intensity that no one who heard it is likely to forget it.

Orchestral soloists made stunning contributions, notably hornist Thomas Sherwood, bassoonist William Winstead and timpanist Eugene Espino.

The evening opened with the world premiere of Exordium Nobile - Grand Opening - by Douglas Lowry, dean of UC's College-Conservatory of Music. It began with a big-boned, powerful fanfare that straddled Copland and John Williams, followed by a restless elegy and a pastiche of multiple events - such as a scintillating passage that echoed Stravinsky.

E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com