Vital from the first flourish, soloist Tamara-Anna Cislowska and WA Symphony Orchestra brought passion and panache to Elena Kats-Chernin’s Piano Concerto No.3 “Lebewohl” (Farewell) at Winthrop Hall on Friday.

Palpable purpose at the piano spoke of anguish but also uncertainty — the great void of bereavement opening up in this eulogy for Maria Barbara Bach, first wife of Baroque maestro Johann Sebastian.

Vigorous offbeat measures took turns with grandiloquent phrases and florid runs in a kaleidoscope of expression eloquently conjured from the keyboard as Finnish conductor Kristian Sallinen sustained tight tempi and dynamics.

Quotations from Bach’s cantatas preface each of five movements themed on the stages of grief; the first styled “the deep and bitter flood”.

Portentous chimes brought meditative calm to the second stanza, “… behind night and clouds”. Fraught undertones in piano rose to a crisis, calling on woodwind, strings then full orchestra before returning to piano, plaintive and poignant.

Contemplation flowed to consolation then drama, bolstered by percussion and brass, fading to a soliloquy in conclusion.

Strident piano and plangent orchestral chords reprised the opening attack for “you thunderous word”, echoed in tuned percussion. Urgent bowing from top to bottom of the range alternated with pizzicato as piano pursued its singular purpose towards a brusque dismount.

Silvery high notes ushered in ethereal strings as piano pondered the great unknown, drawing pathos from the simplest progression for “so aflame with love”. Repeated exploration of the same chord seemed to channel distant bugle calls, reflecting again the five stages of grief.

Soloist and strings summoned a sharpened sense of loss, soulful without sentiment, to rest on an irresolute cadence.

Finally, insistent tolling at the keyboard triggered a stern brass chorale for “allow princess, just one more ray beam”. Anthemic splendour bloomed with more incandescent energy from Cislowska as a returning motif triggered full-on philharmonic pyrotechnics at the death.

Hearty cheers and applause drew an encore of Bach’s first Bb-minor prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier; a touch of old-world charm to balance the shock of the new.

Finnish works bracketed the concerto, opening with Leevi Madetoja’s symphonic poem Kullervo.

Drama from timpani (Alex Timcke) and horns launched broad, sweeping figures punctuated by muted trumpets, flowing to rhapsodic strings with lyrical woodwind.

Clarinet (Allan Meyer) cooled the mood in solemn intonation, triggering horns then full ensemble for a storm-tossed soundscape.

Sallinen seemed impervious to distraction and imperious in action, relaxing with Romantic reverie spiced by horn (David Evans), oboe (Liz Chee) and flute (Andrew Nicholson).

Basses flagged another scene change, turbo-charged by brass to a metronomic beat. Sombre pauses then slowed momentum as the orchestra settled in ponderous calm to close.

After the interval, Sallinen showed the same sangfroid to introduce Jean Sibelius’ Second Symphony in a slow build-up of lyrical strains. His methodical approach matched the composition, drawing full value from each episode in an unfolding saga.

Gradually, Sibelius’ steel began to emerge in expansive brass and horns, lighting a fire then letting it die to embers in the Allegretto first movement.

Mystery from timpani and bass sketched Scandi noir for the second stanza, Temp andante ma rubato, its darkness picked up in cellos then bassoons (Adam Mikulicz and Chloe Turner). Strings seized the narrative, stirring all sections by turn, with fierce precision across the back row.

Ebb and flow modulated the mix, clearing space for airy solos from trumpet (Jenna Smith) and flute (Nicholson), with Finlandia effects in full ensemble.

Stepping up for the Vivacissimo third movement, furtive fiddling set a furious pace for woodwind and brass to follow. Woodwind won the race to bask in a slow chorale with brass backing; a brief lap of honour before the race resumed.

Quiet moments of triumph interspersed with intense activity wove a web of intrigue in the Allegro moderato finale; rising to a climax in heroic celebration, bold and brassy to close.

WASO return to Winthrop Hall on August 21 and 22 with Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.