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Johannes Brahms - following his revered role model, Ludwig van Beethoven - wrote just one violin concerto, but he packed it with the invention and demands of a dozen conventional ones.

Renowned for its long, complex first movement, the concerto remains a major challenge for its soloist and a serious one for listeners.

Midori triumphed Saturday in her debut at the Eastern Music Festival at Guilford College. The capacity audience hung on every glorious note.

Ten years ago, the diminutive, singularly named superstar violinist, who burst into the music world at age 11, might have handled the concerto's technical requirements, but its musical and emotional dimensions might have eluded her.

At 36, her technique is as formidable as ever and she has interpretative skills to match. Her phrasing and musicianship are impeccable, and her playing leaves even overridden war horses fresh on the ear.

The technical glitter, though, was a minor attraction in the vast mine of riches the concerto offers and her playing explored. She was sensitively backed by guest conductor David Lockington and a supple orchestra that sounded extremely good in its first outing of the season.

The audience seemed engaged and enchanted. During the nearly four-minute cadenza climaxing the opening movement, nothing jarred the yin-yang of soothing and stormy emanations from her 1734 Guarnerius del Gesu violin.

The concerto, as is Beethoven's, is in D major, and there are other nods to the master in various themes.

The first theme, heard in a plaintive setting, seems derived from Beethoven's "Emperor" piano concerto. There are rumblings in another theme of one of his later string quartets. A third theme sounds like a Viennese waltz.

Brahms tosses out all this and more even before the soloist's entrance, rapidly cutting and changing rhythms. The surprises continue for more than 20 minutes and build to the glorious solo.

Bowing to tradition, Brahms wrote no music for the cadenza, leaving it open to the soloist.

Violinist Joseph Joachim, who advised Brahms on the concerto's composition and premiered it, supplied the cadenza Midori played Saturday.

Midori brought it off with transporting brilliance and intelligence, digging into the muscular, masculine side and balancing it with the ethereal, feminine element. Midori's notes seemed to come from, hang in and disappear into thin air. When she came to the cadenza's end and the orchestra joined her, the effect was magical.

The second movement, pairing the violin and oboe, was richly lyrical and benefited from her phrasing and tonal delicacy. The third movement, featuring gypsy-like fiddling, provided a fiery finish.

Sibelius' Symphony No. 5 was the other major work. The three-movement symphony is a powerful evocation of Finland's craggy mountain terrain and a proud people.

The weakest moments came in a slack first movement. Lockington failed to scale the dramatic heights written in the score. The climax comes halfway in and the music should expand thrillingly, but it had little impact. The rest went better, especially in a lovely rendering of the dancelike elements of the second movement. The program opened with Philip Sawyer's "The Gale of Life. "

Jim Shertzer is a freelance contributor.