In the finale of the "Bach to Bach" series for the season, Mark Russell Smith and the Richmond Symphony presented a very interesting musical sandwich at Bon Air Baptist Church on Friday night.

Starting with Johann Sebastian Bach's Suite No. 3 for Orchestra and ending with the composer's Concerto for Two Violins, Smith cooked up the ingredients for a hero that even Dagwood Bumstead would have enjoyed.

Attending a concert like this is bliss for even the casual musicologist. Smith explained to the audience the intricacies Bach utilized in his own compositions, then carried the similarities on to the two other pieces of the evening: Arnold Sch?enberg's Chamber Symphony No. 1 and Heitor Villa-Lobos' "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9."

The orchestra sounded effortlessly excellent on the opening suite, and the Sch?enberg piece -- which utilized 14 of the orchestra's first-chair players -- was mesmerizing. Yes, one could hear the Bach influence, but the complicated atonality that characterized Sch?enberg's early works made the Bach explanation hard to follow. It is what it is.

Villa-Lobos -- probably the most well-known South American composer -- weaves an endearing tribute to Bach in his "Bachianas Brasileiras" series. And the orchestra gave him his due.

But the crown on the evening was a delightful performance of Bach's twin violin concerto.

Concertmaster Karen Johnson joined with 13-year-old prodigy Madison Vest to ring out the Bach series. And it was like the two were joined at the bridge during their performance.

Vest, winner of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra League's Student Concerto Competition three years ago, already has appeared as a soloist with the orchestra and is quickly making her presence known on the concert trail. She's already graced the stage at Carnegie Hall and is slated to perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra next season.

The two were in perfect synch and complemented each other well, never outplaying the other in providing a perfect ending to the orchestra's homage to the composer whose work and styling has influenced so many great composers.
Contact Walt Amacker at (804) 649-6247 or wamacker@timesdispatch.com.