Soloist Paul Huang’s performance in Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 was the highlight of the San Francisco Symphony concert on Wednesday, July 1.

“Paul Huang delivered an affecting account of Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. In a wonderfully counterintuitive way, the Taiwanese artist downplayed technical showmanship and brought out the work’s alluring long lines and connective tissue. That’s not to suggest he lacked virtuosic chops, but rather that he put them to work in a suave, thoughtful and affecting account of the piece.

Where other soloists might dig into an attack or fire showily through passagework, Huang threaded every component together with care. From his glowing, warm tone and gossamer high trills to flowing double-stops and liquid phrasing, everything felt at once carefully considered and spontaneous. His bow sank into the strings and drew out the notes and measures, never bouncing or jabbing.

The orchestra responded in kind, with a glassy string sound at the outset and rustling support from the woodwinds later on. Huang brought a quizzical tenderness to the Adagio, as if in quiet introspection. He gave the intoxicating final movement drive and energizing rhythmic suppleness, well matched by Van Soeterstède and the ensemble.

For all his discipline and focus, Huang displayed a flair for showmanship, both with his way of swinging his bow skyward at the end of a passage and the 200-watt smile he beamed from start to finish. The encore, a whirring, feathery Scherzo from Fritz Kreisler’s Recitativo and Scherzo-Caprice, showed off another side of Huang’s gifts.”