BYU PHILHARMONIC, with Marc-André Hamelin, piano, de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, Feb. 13 

Johannes Brahms, Fazioli and Marc-André Hamelin go together. That was made obvious Thursday when the Canadian pianist joined the BYU Philharmonic and Kory Katseanes in Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto.

The concert was the inaugural performance of the new Fazioli grand piano that Brigham Young University’s school of music recently purchased, and there was no better choice than Hamelin for the honors. Hamelin is an artist who lets the music speak for itself. His musicality is such that he can carve the most intricate details out of every phrase while never losing sight of the larger picture. And that is vitally important when taking on an immense work such as Brahms’ Second.

Brahms’ two piano concertos are symphonic in scope and breadth. They’re concertos only in name, since in both the piano and orchestra are extensions of each other, complementing and augmenting what each has to say.

And that was how Hamelin and Katseanes approached the Second. Theirs was a wonderfully intuitive collaboration; and the result was a phenomenally rich, impassioned and powerful account that was bold yet immaculately expressive and nuanced. Both the conductor and soloist made sure there was a fine balance of sound between the piano and orchestra, and never at any moment did either overpower the other.

The philharmonic played exceptionally well, with wonderfully defined phrasings and articulation. Particular mention must be of principal cellist Quinn Boyack’s eloquently expressive playing in the Andante; he brought poetic lyricism to his duet with the soloist.

In response to the overwhelming reception by the audience after the performance, Hamelin treated the audience to two Chopin encores, the second of which was his witty twist on the Minute Waltz.

The concert opened with Matthew Webb’s Cornerwise, the 2013 Barlow Student Composition winner.

Cornerwise is a well orchestrated piece that is rhapsodic in character with thematic fragments tossed between the sections. The philharmonic played with flair and Katseanes brought a well defined cohesiveness to the work.

Rounding out the concert was Béla Bartók’s Dance Suite. Katseanes and his ensemble gave an energetic account of the multi movement work that captured its energy and rhythmic vitality.