Three pianists playing three concertos has been the winning formula for the opening concert of the Miami International Piano Festival in recent seasons. So, it was again on Sunday afternoon as Ilya Itin, Dmitry Ablogin and Alexander Gavrylyuk took turns on the stage of the Aventura Art and Culture Center. They were supported by a 33-member orchestra under the direction of Igor Gruppman. Unlike last year’s edition when the concertos presented were off the beaten path, the artists played popular repertoire that was tried and true.

Ilya Itin opened with a magisterial reading of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major. In the initial Allegro moderato, Itin’s touch was svelte, his shaping of phrases poetic. Displaying immaculate technique, every note was given pointed clarity. There was a touch of bravura in the cadenza without resorting to excessive volume or musical eccentricities. The coda emerged as an organic extension of the extended solo rather than a hasty finish.

One of Beethoven’s most original creations, the Andante con moto is a confrontation between a forceful orchestral motif and the piano’s subtle response. Itin played those interjections softly with a sense of introspection, the final pages sounding almost like a reverie. Itin’s articulation was light as a feather in the final Rondo-Vivace. His pristine sense of style effectively captured Beethoven’s path between classicism and the aborning romantic era which the concerto illustrates. Gruppman provided crisp, attentive accompaniment.

Dmitry Ablogin offered Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor. The less often assayed of Chopin’s two concertos, the work is no less intense, melodic and challenging for the artist. Gruppman set the tone, bringing forth the restless spirit and passion of Chopin’s orchestral introduction. Ablogin’s approach was large-scaled, grandly sweeping and virtuosic. He played the movement’s second theme straightforwardly, avoiding the exaggerated inflection some artists confuse with profundity.

The Larghetto turned rhapsodic under Ablogin’s fingers and the Polish dance rhythms of the concluding Allegro vivace were given emphatic lift. Ablogin managed to meld accuracy, heft and verve at a fast tempo. A swirling coda culminated a performance replete with distinctive personality.

Alexander Gavrylyuk concluded the program with Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor. Following the performance, one audience member commented “he played like a man possessed.” Returning to the festival after a long absence, the Ukrainian pianist indeed delivered a commanding account cof the keyboard’s opening bars. Gavrylyuk took the main theme at a taut clip with Gruppman drawing a sound from the orchestral contingent that was larger in sonority than its size. Gavrylyuk made child’s play of the first movement’s rapid pyrotechnics, with a notably thunderous cadenza. A wonderfully fluent performance of the Adagio was marked by finely variegated coloring. Gavrylyuk attacked the finale with speed and pulsating verve. An almost playful final reprise led to grandiose conclusion, almost Lisztian in excitement. Gavrylyuk and Gruppman managed to infuse new life into an old warhorse.

Prior to the concert, Miami piano festival founder Giselle Brodsky was honored by the Aventura Center which is celebrating its 15^th anniversary. She presented her first concert there a month after the hall opened and has done 70 concerts at the venue.

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