The 19th century solidified the image of the virtuosic soloist as a heroic individual striving to break free from the restrictions of society. Opening the second half of the Stockton Symphony's 81st season, soloist Julie Albers brought a fresh approach to that archetype Thursday with her performance of Elgar's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. The progam repeats tonight at Atherton Auditorium.

Perhaps most striking was Albers' use of a riser, which elevated her about 18 inches off the stage, and was designed to help project the cello's sound into the large concert hall. While it might have been used primarily for acoustic reasons, the riser couldn't help but contribute something dramatic as well.

In the case of Albers - dressed in a long, beige dress that nicely complemented the color palette of her cello - the elevated position made it far easier for her to stand out from the orchestra. In that setting and with that appearance, Albers' sensual and lyric performance of Elgar's concerto transformed the idea of soloist as hero into soloist as queen, with the simple riser becoming a place of regal elegance and emotive power.

Albers possessed full command of the piece, and her smooth tone allowed Elgar's vocal-like writing to sing to its fullest potential. This was especially true of the piece's first and third movements, which feature melodic lines that waft passionately from soloist to audience.

While the second movement strikes a more recognizably virtuosic mood, one Albers handled with little apparent effort, the concerto's final movement attempts to provide real dramatic contrast, injecting into the music brief moments of levity mixed with moments of grimness to which Albers gave a haunted, almost grotesque sound.

Composed with the horror of World War I still fresh, the concerto is not explicitly about the war, but like Ravel's "La Valse," it is very much of it. Indeed, Albers ended the concerto on an elegiac note, floating beautifully off into nothing before the piece's final crashing chords wrenched it to back to the real world.

Albers' interaction with conductor Peter Jaffe throughout the piece's many expressive details demonstrated the kind of confidence required to make the music truly communicate. Moreover, the orchestra was especially balanced, providing just the right amount of support, and the combination resulted in quite simply the finest performance of any concerto so far this season.

The concert opened with an enjoyable take on Sibelius' "Finlandia," as Jaffe had music and a translation of the Finnish lyrics that were set to the piece's famous "hymn" section distributed with the program booklet. He then invited the audience to sing along with orchestra, and it is a testament to his status within Stockton's classical music community that most of the audience gamely played along. A spirited if at times heavy-handed performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 brought the concert to a rousing finish.

Contact Glenn Pillsbury at features@recordnet.com