Music of sorrow and consolation makes up this week's Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra program on the Classical Series, but the quality of commitment guest conductor Christof Perick brings to it yields a mood of triumphant joy.

Perick's Beethoven, though, would've made a believer of any skeptic.

It was as though Perick's arrival from Germany and the start of the rehearsals this week gave everyone permission to return to the music...As Toscanini once said, a conductor is there to make suggestive gestures to the musicians, not choreograph the audience. That was Perick: He was giving it all to the orchestra and the singers - and to Beethoven - and we just happened to be in the room.

With guest conductor Christof Perick leading the San Antonio Symphony in Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 on Friday night, the results were agile, fleet, transparent, and captivating. Widely esteemed for his interpretations of Wager, Perick made an impressive debut with the San Antonio Symphony...[and] his flexible, generally quick tempos were guided buy a songlike sense of the long line.

...it quickly became clear that Perick had carefully reconsidered every nook and cranny of the old warhorse. Full value was given to playing quietly while still allowing the music to register  physically with the listener. Balances between the sections were excellent, and the care taken with  phrasing – such as a little phrase for the viola section near the end of the slow introduction – was  extraordinary.

German conductor Christof Perick, himself a last-minute substitute for Edo de Waart, proved well-versed in the style of these songs...present[ing] the work as music and story-telling and not as personal showcase.

Perick’s achievement was especially impressive given the circumstances. In a season where it seemed every production was affected by an unexpected cancellation or illness, “Der Rosenkavalier” was affected the most. The season’s biggest star, soprano Anja Harteros, backed out because of illness, and the equally accomplished bass, Ferruccio Furlanetto, exited after having second thoughts about adding the role to his repertory. Still, under Perick’s direction, and with the good graces of soprano Twyla Robinson and bass Andrew Greenan and the energetic contributions of already cast Anke Vondung and Patrizia Ciofi, the production came together. It reminded you of how rewarding opera can be.

Opening with Beethoven's Third Leonore Overture, Perick proved himself to be a dynamic conductor. Leading the large orchestra without a score, Perick set the stage of unrestrained music making that would characterize the concert.