Resounding symphony show

CHAPEL HILL -- The N.C. Symphony concert Thursday could have been titled "Surprise." The works programmed were all filled with unexpected outbursts, abrupt rhythmic changes and sudden pauses. Heightened by Grant Llewellyn's supercharged conducting, the evening could also have been labeled "Sleepers, Awake."

From the moment Llewellyn signaled the first resounding chord of Beethoven's "Coriolan Overture," he seemed a man possessed. His electrified stance transmitted complete control over Beethoven's every musical turnabout and reversal. It was easy to accept his preconcert statement that this was his favorite Beethoven overture.

The centerpiece of the evening was Nikolai Medtner's Piano Concerto No. 2, with 28-year-old Yevgeny Sudbin at the keyboard. The work was intriguing not only because of its rarity and daunting difficulties, but because this same team will record it next week for a CD, which will include a Rachmaninoff concerto performed and recorded last season.

Medtner was a close friend of Rachmaninoff, who overshadowed him. The reasons are evident: The Medtner concerto has some big waves of melody and a number of rich solo passages, often evoking Rachmaninoff, but they come in short, disconnected bits spread out over lengthy, showy movements.

Medtner's multilayered themes, densely packed lines and constant shifts of tempo and mood keep the piece from grabbing the listener for more than a few passages at a time. Only the tightly woven third movement, with its clever variations on a theme, maintains interest throughout.

That didn't keep pianist and conductor from making the best possible case for the work. Sudbin, understandably using a score, played confidently and cleanly, filling the hall with ringing chords or filigreed lines, as appropriate.

He brought focused verve to the third movement, matched by Llewellyn's crisp intensity and nuanced support. The orchestra members dealt with Medtner's every challenge as though they played it every season, aided by Llewellyn's astute feel for the concerto's architecture.

The surprise hit of the evening was Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1, a piece full of that composer's special brand of intensity, already fully formed in this 1926 work. The contrast with Medtner's concerto, composed in the same year, could not have been more dramatic.

Shostakovich grips the listener with this work's gloomy depths, chilling mystery and ominous moods. His music always reflects the hopes and fears of humanity, never relaxing but always rewarding.

Llewellyn again demonstrated a total control of every effect and emotion, galvanizing the orchestra into a finely spun, closely knit performance, concluding an evening not to be taken lightly but supplying satisfying involvement.