Mstislav Rostropovich died last month after a fruitful career as a conductor, cellist and pedagogue. He first came to international fame when he played the Bach Cello Suites during the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Perhaps it was a fitting act of providence, then, that the Oberlin Orchestra would showcase the same instrument Wednesday night. Conservatory senior Paul Dwyer performed Dmitri Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 1, a piece originally written for Rostropovich.

Dwyer’s performance was energetic and passionate, conveying a great sense of enthusiasm for the work. The Moderato movement stood out as the most expressively played. The singing melodies conveyed a great sense of loss and longing which culminated in the cello crying out in agony before fading back into a forlorn, distant place. Dwyer’s control of the lyric character of his instrument is certainly extraordinary and brought great life into the work.

“I thought it went great; I thought it kicked ass; I was very pleased,” said conductor Bridget-Michaele Reischl.

The only real blemishes in the performance were a number of balance problems in the flute and piccolo, which may have been as much an issue of orchestration as one of performance.

The lone horn of double-degree sophomore Nicolee Kuester stood out in a number of excellent solos, often acting as a complement to the heroic character of the cello in the fast movements.

The second half of the program featured Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, nicknamed the “Titan.” This work, originally considered by the composer to be a tone poem, requires a very large orchestra and a keen sense of drama by the musicians.

“Now there’s this whole layer of subtlety…the hardest thing about it is getting the right taste,” said Reischl.

Among the highlights of the performance were the glimmering wind and horn solos in the first movement as well as the many brass chorales.

The overall aesthetic came out very well, thanks to the intense dynamic contrasts, particularly in the winds and brass and the singing cantabile lines in the strings.

The finale was the most gripping of the movements, beginning with a dramatic return of material from the first movement. The performers maintained the excitement throughout and brought the work to a stunning climactic conclusion.

Reischl confessed that putting the piece together had not been easy: “It sounded like crap [in rehearsal] this afternoon.” But she believes it came together in the end. “I’d never heard them play it like that before.”

With additional reporting by Ian VanderMeulen