The 2011-2012 season of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra opened Friday night with the annual red-carpet walk by the musicians, conductor, board of directors, donors, and government supporters. The cameras were flashing, the gowns were floor length, and the accoutrement will make the upcoming Rochester Fashion Week pale in comparison.

As the audience walked into Kodak Hall to take their seats, the banter was full of "hope" - "I hope he can do it," "I hope he's got the talent," "I hope he can pull this off." All of that hope wrapped around one "he," new RPO music director and conductor, Arild Remmereit.

The musicians took the stage sporting red carnations. The lights faded to black and Remmereit dramatically entered stage left, bathed in a spotlight. The program included a symphony by American composer Amy Beach (1867-1944), two short works by Norwegian composers Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935) and Johan Severin Svendsen (1840-1911), and Austrian composer Johann Strauss, Jr. (1825-1899). Remmereit said during a recent interview with City Newspaper that he designed the opening-night program in the spirit of notable Rochesterian Susan B. Anthony, and to bring in tastes of his native Norway and his most recent home, Vienna.

There were standing ovations, first at the end of the Beach symphony that filled the 45-minute first half, then at the end of the second half, as well as for all three encores.

But, truth be told, these dramas were not the story of the night. 

The story of the night was the RPO Concertmaster, Juliana Athayde, violin.

Athayde was absolutely magnificent in her performance (with the orchestra) of the Romance in G, Op. 26 by Svendsen. Athayde's tone was luscious, the arc of her line was flawless, and her technique was clean. Athayde created a truly memorable performance with a relatively unknown work.

And that is really the broader story of the evening. The RPO is a highly skilled group of musicians, many of whom have worked together for years. Certain moments of the Beach symphony, for example, came to life because of the artistry of first chairs like Kenny Grant, clarinet; Eric Behr, oboe; and Douglas Prosser, trumpet. Both the individual musicians carrying solos and inter-instrument exchanges made the most out of the Beach and the first Strauss selections.

But, for any program, after all the marketing, the interviews, the discussion of works on the stage in between pieces, and the connections being made to the culture of Rochester, the scores must stand on their own merits as excellent compositions that are well-suited to the orchestra. What Friday night demonstrated to me is that the true test of this season will be whether the works selected by Remmereit to advance his stated goal of elevating relatively unknown composers are works of sufficient quality to enhance and showcase the RPO. The RPO is, without question, one of the premier orchestras in America. I hope that it is being matched with compositions of an equal caliber.

This program will also be performed Saturday, October 1, 8 p.m. at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater. For more information visit the orchestra website.