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Charlotte Symphony opens season with robustness, delicacy

The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra opened its season Friday, canvassing the 19th century from the beginnings of Romanticism Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony to one of its last vigorous gasps, Jean Sibelius' "Finlandia." In between came Dvorak's lone cello concerto, running the emotional gamut from tumult to tranquility.

The symphony finished with a surplus for fiscal year 2013-14, something it hadn't done in 12 seasons. So the program felt like a message to its core audience: You're safe with us. Experimentation will come later in fact, in the next concert, when Wu Man plays Zhao Jiping's Concerto for Pipa. Friday was a "Welcome back" for subscribers who want to hear cornerstones of the repertoire.