Stefan Jackiw is sufficient reason to buy a ticket for Saturday night's performance by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. And, if you're looking for a gift for Valentine's Day, buy a second ticket, so that you can swoon together to the lyricism of Jackiw's violin playing.

Thursday night at Kodak Hall, Jackiw performed the Schottische Fantasie ("Scottish Fantasy"), Op. 46 by German composer Max Bruch (1838-1920). Bruch revolved the four-movement piece around Scottish folk tunes. In Christopher Fifield's bibliography of Bruch, he notes that the composer's inspiration was a collection of Scottish folk tunes, the lyrics for which were taken down by poet Robert Burns. Bruch reportedly wrote to his editor in 1884 to say, "I would never have come to anything in this world, if I had not, since my twenty-fourth year, studied the folk music of all nations with seriousness, perseverance, and unending interest. There is nothing to compare with the feeling, power, originality, and beauty of the folksong..."

Jackiw is about the same age as Bruch was when he composed the "Scottish Fantasy." Thursday night, Jackiw's command of his violin and this work was ably demonstrated in his trills, runs, and tempi, as he captured the genuine lyricism of sitting in a small pub or around the fire in Scotland and listening to a balladeer.

I pay my highest compliment to Jackiw: the poignant endings of the passages and movements were perfect. Jackiw is a musician who practices the endings.

If you are not a musician, you may be confused by this compliment, and perhaps you are used to big, flashy endings that sound just fine. But there is a particular difficulty presented to musicians when the endings of phrases, movements, and entire works resolve themselves at softer volume. What is played "piano," or softly, takes far more technical control, and when it is at the end of phrases, passages, movements, and works, you run the risk that the "resolution" of all of the tension is inaudible and the audience goes home without the peace that comes with the emotional control and technique given to the audience by Jackiw.

Jackiw also tamed the RPO. There is a tendency in our large, fine orchestra to grow too loud too early in a piece, without grading the fortes, or loud passages, to save something for the end. That means that, at times, the RPO can overpower the soloist, somewhat by accident. At Thursday's performance, Jackiw took the RPO to a new level of playing soft passages and endings of movements.

Also on the program was "Rose Absolute" by Japanese composer Karen Tanaka (b. 1961). The program notes indicate Tanaka was inspired to write the composition by her visit to the French perfumery Annick Goutal, near the Place Vendome in Paris.

Tanaka's piece was enchanting. The approximately 10-minute score balanced long, low tones against a steady swirl of piano and harp, using not so much a melody, per se, as a progression of moods, tones, and colors. Tanaka was present for the concert and took a well-deserved bow at the end of the piece.

As with last week's "Blue Planet" by American composer Peggy Stuart Coolidge (1913-1981), the RPO found a grove with Tanaka's "Rose Absolute." I appreciate that Arild Remmereit, as music director, brought his particular mix of interests to programming this season. But with "Blue Planet" and "Rose Absolute" in mind, I must urge Remmereit to consider these two pieces when programming for 2012-2013. The Coolidge and the Tanaka have been the best orchestral works presented this season. Each work took full advantage of the RPO's specific musicians, skills, temperaments, instruments, and hall acoustics, and left me wanting more.

That leads me to the Strauss. Whether the "Final Scene" from "Der Rosenkavalier" by Richard Strauss or other, similar works on this year's programs, it doesn't click. Perhaps the problem is that in playing this genre so loudly, and with such gusto in Kodak Hall, that the sound reverberates for too long and blurs? There may be several factors why these German/Austrian compositions do not achieve the same impact as the Coolidge, Tanaka, and Bruch.

The bottom line is, if you weren't there last night, buy a ticket and get to the RPO for Saturday night. If you've enjoyed Itzhak Perlman or Augustin Hadelich, you must hear Jackiw.

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra will perform the same program Saturday, February 11, 8 p.m. at Kodak Hall. For more information visit the website.