The two halves of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's Friday night concert shared only one aspect, apart from conductor Manfred Honeck and the orchestra, but it was the most important one — truly memorable musical performance.

The first half was devoted to Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2, a lengthy, four-movement piece, in a brilliant performance by Emanuel Ax.

The famous opening for solo horn and piano had authoritative poetry and power. Ax is a musician of such uncommon sensitivity in phrasing and voicing that it's easy to forget how remarkable his tone production is. Yet much of the success of this opening was due to his wonderfully gauged dynamics, and particularly his boldness of climaxes achieved without banging.

The slow third movement featured many excellent solos by members of the orchestra, especially cellist Anne Martindale Williams, who surpassed the beauty of the way she played her opening solo with even deeper nuances and broader vision.

Not surprisingly, the performance received particularly vociferous applause. Ax notably brought Williams out to share the bows.

Hearing Ax in his prime in a masterpiece so well suited to him is a luxury. So, too, in a different way, was hearing the All University Choir after intermission. Legendary choral conductor Robert Page, preparing his final professional concert, welded five university and college choirs into one 144-voice musical unit. The large number of voices was crucial for the choir and orchestra being well balanced in loud music.

The choir was heard to best advantage in Giuseppe Verdi's Te Deum, where the tonal homogeneity of the young singer was perfectly attuned to the spirit of Verdi's devotion.

Leonard Bernstein's “Chichester Psalms” received an equally sympathetic but less polished account, both vocally and instrumentally. Maksim Shcherbatyuk sang Bernstein's setting of the 23rd Psalm with devotion and poise, while Honeck effectively played up the contrast with Psalm 2, “Why do the nations rage.” Unfortunately, one singer lost his footing and created a noisy distraction during the quiet “Amen” which concludes the piece.

This concert will be repeated at 8 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Heinz Hall, Downtown. Admission is $20 to $94. Details: 412-392-4900 or pittsburghsymphony.org.

Mark Kanny is the Tribune-Review's classical music critic. He can be reached at 412-320-7877 or mkanny@tribweb.com.

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