Lee Eiseman

Augustin Hadelich (file photo) Silhouetted ‘gainst the background of a brilliant Sandy Bay on Sunday afternoon, a crouching-pouncing solo violinist in black seemed to have emerged from an engraving of a diabolical Paganini. The galant Augustin Hadelich astonished with his brilliance and unspotted dispatch of technical challenges with as much charming ease as the earlier master.

From the precision and velocity in the well-oiled machinery of Rameau’s harpsichord extravaganza to the vaporous high-arched hand crossings in Philip Glass’s Mad Rush, Simone Dinnerstein reigned as the queen of nuance and incantation over a freshened-up Shalin Liu Center’s loyal subjects.

Matthew Guard (Michael Justin photo) Some concerts entertain. Some educate. A rare few fundamentally alter an audience. Skylark Vocal Ensemble’s “Clear Voices in the Dark” accomplished all three. By the end of the afternoon at New York City’s Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, one felt less like an audience member than a witness.