In a program combining showpieces and seriousness, violinist Hagai Shaham made a welcome return to Lancaster Sunday evening for the second concert in the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra's Chamber Music Series at Franklin & Marshall College's Roschel Performing Arts Center.

The first half of the concert amounted to a showcase for Shaham, who was paired Netanel Draiblate, the orchestra's associate concertmaster and a student of Shaham's, for 11 selections from Béla Bartók's 44 Duos for Two Violins.

Composed in 1931 at the request of a violin teacher, the very short pieces — most last for less than a minute — present an escalating series of technical challenges, but they also amount to a set of rough-cut gems from Bartók's extensive collection of folk tunes. With impeccable teamwork, Shaham and Draiblate presented an enchanting, kaleidoscopic performance of these colorful miniatures.

Pianist Michael Sheppard joined Shaham for the next two works, Ernest Bloch's "Nigun" from "Baal-Shem: Three Pictures of Hassidic Life" (1923) and Jeno Hubay's "Hejre Kati" from "Scènes de la Csárda" (1882-1886).

Drawing from Jewish and Gypsy traditions respectively, the paired works seemed two sides of a coin. "Nigun," the central movement of Bloch's suite, begins with solemn chords from the piano ushering in the violin, soaring up to heaven "on wings of song" and dropping back to earth. Shaham's performance invoked the worship of the Hassidic believer with unforgettable intensity.

Shaham switched to a decidedly lighter touch for the Hubay work, which transforms popular 19th-century melodies into a stunning work of high-wire virtuosity. Shaham's acrobatic performance brought loud cheers and a well-deserved standing ovation from the audience.

The second half of the program was taken up by the Quintet in F Minor for Piano and String Quartet (1862-1864) by Johannes Brahms. Cellist Kirsten Walsh and violist Andrea Priester Houde joined Shaham, Draiblate and Sheppard for the performance, which flowed from beginning to end.

The ensemble's sure grasp of the music's overall architecture kept the complex piece, in which the moods and melodies shift rapidly, from degenerating into chaos. Instead, from the stormy beginning to the end, in which another gypsy-inspired theme made an appearance, the players created a dramatic triumph.

As an encore, the five musicians performed the light-hearted Scherzo movement from Antonin Dvorak's Piano Quintet in A Major.

———

The Chamber Music Series continues May 17. For tickets and information, call 291-4420 or see www.lancastersymphony.org.