LEWISTON — The Buffalo Philharmonic’s two-day Beethoven Festival opened in grand style on Saturday evening.

But Beethoven was briefly upstaged by a reunion. The centerpiece of the program, offered as a contrast to Beethoven, was Brahms’ 1887 Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, often called his Double Concerto.

Featured soloists were the orchestra’s concertmaster, Michael Ludwig, and cellist Jules Eskin, who is principal cellist of the Boston Symphony. But more important for the moment, Ludwig and Eskin happen to be cousins.

Saturday’s performance was a make-good on a postponement from the 2008-2009 season, and the artistic synergy flowing from this family reunion made it worth the wait.

They presented the exquisite slow movement’s main theme in unison and made this pastoral song the crown of the concerto with their superb blending in subsequent thematic developments. And in the rustic Rondo Finale, their energy in the Hungarian main theme and their virtuosity in the rich double-stopped passages, either solo or together, delivered an exciting and satisfying conclusion. Falletta and the BPO delivered authoritative but sensitively balanced partnership throughout.

The concert peaked and concluded with Beethoven’s mighty 1808 Symphony No. 5 in C minor. One of the most popular and widely recognized orchestral works, the strong opening four-note motif (often called the Fate motif) became a motto for victory in World War II. Its rhythmic pattern appears repeatedly throughout the symphony. Falletta and the orchestra, without overdramatizing these links, did seem to revel in using the recurring rhythmic and thematic references to add an element of unity and cohesion to the performance.

Concert Review

Buffalo Philharmonic

Orchestra

Beethoven Festival. Saturday evening at Artpark, Lewiston. Also 3

p. m today. For information, call 754-4375.