Pittsburgh Symphony music director Manfred Honeck brought the Viennese waltz back to Pittsburgh last night.

In a reprise of his post-Thanksgiving Day program from last season, Honeck again brought a mix of waltzes and polkas penned by Johann Strauss Jr. and his brother, Josef. Honeck's love for this genre was evident throughout the program. He brought an authentic perspective to the sound of the brother's works and gave the Heinz Hall audience an upbeat and festive concert.

Chinese pianist Sa Chen made her PSO debut with a solid performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1. Sitting in for PSO concertmaster Andres Cardenes was Stephen Rose, principal second violin at Cleveland.

Chen and the orchestra portrayed the episodic quality of the piano concerto's first movement's unfolding narrative with a perspective that showcased Tchaikovsky's ability to change musical scenes abruptly. They highlighted the thematic drama and brought out the opening theme's subtle harmonic return. Chen's relaxed style was well suited for the entire second movement. Honeck prepared her initial entrance with exquisitely hushed pizzicatos in the strings and Brook Ferguson's well-phrased flute solo. Chen's well deserved encore was a lilting performance of Chen Peifum's "Autumn Over the Peaceful Lake".

Honeck found all of the dynamic shadings inherent to the mix of waltzes (works in triple time) and polkas (works in common time) on the concert's second half. His knack for borrowing from one rhythmic unit to elongate another kept the performances rhythmically lively, especially in Josef's polka, "A Woman's Heart."

The brothers' collaborative composition, "Pizzicato Polka," allowed the PSO's string sections to fully display their dynamic control -- ranging with ease from a scarcely audible piano to a solid and resounding forte. Within Johann's "Voices of Spring," Honeck set the orchestral background in motion, like a precisely geared timepiece, and then drew out the intricate nuances of the waltz's running theme.

As an ad-hoc chorus, the first violins and low brass players supplied the vocal reinforcement for Johann's "Egyptian March." The percussion section provided the thunder and lightning for Johann's "Unter Donner and Blitz" and a few of the string players provided the umbrellas.

Though the orchestra did not actually make rain fall from Heinz Hall's ceiling, they did bring all of the musical elements together for an exciting post-Thanksgiving concert.

The concert repeats tonight at 8 o'clock and tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.

Critics Andrew Druckenbrod and Scott Mervis talk about music on "The Beat," available exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.