Print edition: 
The Wichita Symphony Orchestra, led by guest conductor Eckart Preu, offered a concert of highly expressive works Saturday evening at Century II, filling the hall with lush and lively sonorities.
The program began with Mikhail Glinka's overture to “Ruslan and Ludmilla.” Glinka is widely considered to be the father of Russian music and his harmonic language sounds fresh to this day. In Saturday evening's performance some elements were out of balance, and pitch throughout the orchestra was not the most refined.
In the next piece, the orchestra was joined by pianist Terrence Wilson in George Gershwin's “Piano Concerto in F.” As Glinka is noted for his role in creating the “Russian sound” in concert music through his use of folk idioms and tonalities, Gershwin brought a distinctly American flair to the concert hall.
The concerto, written after “Rhapsody in Blue,” is infused with essences of American dance and blues. Wilson played with a clear, bright, powerful tone that was perfect for Gershwin. The ensemble between soloist and orchestra was strained; Wilson seemed to want to move the tempo ahead faster than Preu and the orchestra were willing to go. But the audience was still rewarded with an enjoyable performance overall.
After intermission, the orchestra performed Rimsky-Korsakov's “Scheherazade.” This expansive work features prominent violin solos, rendered with exceptional technique and beauty by concertmaster John Harrison. Harrison's pitch was impeccable and his sound was like spun gold as he ascended to the extreme range of his instrument.
There was fine playing in every section and clarinetist Gabrielle Baffoni and cellist Camille Burrow deserve particular praise as both dispatched the important solo passages for their instrument with gorgeous self-assured tone and style. As with the other pieces on this concert, tuning through out the group could have been more stable.
