The guest conductor in this Scottish Chamber Orchestra concert was Andrew Manze who is developing a relationship with the orchestra as he conducts at least once in a season.
With his expressive hands, and conducting with great aplomb, Manze opened the concert with Prokofiev's Symphony No 1 in D major.
Prokofiev wrote his "classical symphony" in 1917 at a time of political upheaval in Russia, and turbulence is a predominant mood in this popular symphony. There is a range of musical styles in its four movements. The skilfulness of the orchestra was highlighted in the finale, which was played with a terrific flurry.
The stage was re-arranged to accommodate a grand piano for the ensuing piece, Mozart's popular piano concerto No 5 in C Major, played by the Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi.
Mozart can be technically demanding, with his distinctive rolling scales and simple melodies that require sympathetic interpretation. Piemontesi gave a flawless performance, playing with great sensitivity, and lightness of touch.
The pièce de résistance of the evening was Andrew Manze's arrangement of an eighteenth century composition by Antonio Lotti which he segued effortlessly into Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony No 1 in C minor.
As he explained to the audience, the connection to the two pieces was the city of Dresden. When Lotti wrote his composition the town was renowned for its stunning baroque architecture, which was destroyed by firebombs during the Second World War, along with thousands of manuscripts.
Shostakovich visited the city in 1960 and wrote this symphony at rapid speed, finishing it in three days. Moved by the devastation he witnessed, he dedicated the piece to the victims of fascism and war.
Manze's sensitive handling of the intricacies of this piece, coupled with the expertise of the orchestra, was superb. Composed as a visual narrative with, at times, hauntingly beautiful melancholic passages - a hallmark of Shostakovich's work - the symphony concluded on the most sublime melancholic note, enhanced by Manze's reverential pause at the end.
Show times
Friday 25 February, Glasgow City Halls, 7.30pm
Saturday 26 February, Aberdeen Music Hall, 7.30pm