BUTLER TWP — “Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini” by Sergei Rachmaninoff as performed by pianist Igor Lipinski was truly the star of the Celestial Fantasy concert of the Butler County Symphony Orchestra on Saturday night at the Butler Intermediate High School.

Rachmaninoff was a brilliant composer and pianist who was notorious for writing extremely difficult piano concerti as exemplified in the 1996 film “Shine,” which suggested that the strain of a performance of the “Rach 3” triggered the mental breakdown of an aspiring Australian pianist.

Fortunately, Lipinski suffered no dire consequences from his masterful playing of the 24 variations.

The nine-note theme was introduced by the trumpets and accented by the piano at the beginning of the first variation. Each subsequent variation was distinctly different in style and allowed Lipinski to showcase his dazzling versatility.

He shifted minute by minute from crisp to lyrical to melancholy to grandiose with aplomb. One moment he played with frantic speed, lapsed into a languid theme, then a brisk march or a sweeping waltz and ended with a grandiose final movement that ended with a sudden sweet, almost humorous, pair of quiet notes.

Variation 18 brought sighs of pleasure to the audience as they recognized the romantic theme that was used in the film “Somewhere in Time”.

As an encore, Lipinski offered Chopin’s “Nocturne in C Sharp” which was a favorite of Rachmaninoff. His control and interpretation were exquisite.

Modest Mussorrgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain” is frequently played for Halloween concerts. It was familiar to most listeners and was performed well by the orchestra as led by conductor Matthew Kraemer.

Introducing less-commonly played music was the eponymous “Musica Celestis” by American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. Unlike much modern classical music — this work is a mere 20 years old — “Musica Celestis” did not exclusively feature abstract dissonance and jolting rhythmic changes.

Voiced for strings-only, the piece began with a progression of extremely long notes played on the violins followed by a brief, lovely solo on the part of concertmaster Andrew Sords which was echoed and passed along throughout the remainder of the orchestra. It developed into a more atonal, jarring section and then reprised the opening strains concluding with a repeat of the violin solo.

The work was challenging to play, a challenge that was capably met.

The string section proved itself worthy and made the experience interesting without being overwhelming. Kudos to Kraemer and the orchestra for succeeding in a difficult work.

The final piece was “Death and Transfiguration” by Richard Strauss.

The winds, brass and percussion returned to the stage for the performance. It too is a challenging work for an average orchestra but the symphony rose to the occasion.

Strauss’ composition started with ominous harmonies then mutated to more hopeful tones as played by flute, oboe, harp and clarinet. As the lighter melody continued, the low strings initiated an almost inaudible threatening tone that slowly grew, heralding a sudden burst of tympani and an agitated theme played by the violins. Following a second cycle of crescendo/decrescendo, the music built to a powerful climax and then concluded with a soaring slow ascending line as if soaring into the clouds.

The evening’s program was beautifully balanced between familiar and less-familiar works. The orchestra surpassed expectations in execution and deserved great praise for the result.