By Daniel Buckwalter

Spanning the globe — Persia, Eastern Europe and South America — the Delgani String Quartet opened its ninth season Oct. 22 and 24 in Eugene with resounding performances of intricate and melodic scores that brought audiences to their feet with standing ovations.

It was the first two of five performances of the Dreams and Prayers concert. Delgani, the Eugene-based ensemble, wrapped up the series with weekend performances in Corvallis, Portland and Salem, and I hope it received the same support it had from the near capacity audience Oct. 24 in the sanctuary of First Church of Christ, Scientist in Eugene.

Delgani — violinists Anthea Kreston and Jannie Wei, violist Kimberlee Uwate and cellist Eric Alterman with guest clarinetist Wonkak Kim — deftly picked their way through three challenging pieces, especially Osvaldo Golijov’s The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, in which Kim played three different clarinets.

Before Golijov’s piece were magical compositions of Iranian Reza Vali (Čahārgāh) and the Czech Republic’s Bedřich Smetana’s (From My Life). Each piece captures both the full canvas of Persian and Eastern European life as well as intimate details of that life.

On that latter note, I was struck by the third movement of Smetana’s From My Life, a grieving and touching tribute to Smetana’s first wife, Kateřina Otilie Smetanová, who died at age 32 and left behind four children.

Vali’s Čahārgāh, with its chaotic and intense opening, certainly painted a picture for me of a crowded Persian market. It, too, was a delight to hear.

The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind brought clarity to the incredible range and emotion the clarinet has in the hands of the right person, with searing high notes on the soprano clarinet and soulful low notes on the bass clarinet.

Kim is that right person. The University of Oregon instructor at the School of Music and Dance has been celebrated throughout the country, and his recordings have been played throughout the world.

He was commanding in the Oct. 24 performance, but The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind is a physically taxing piece for the clarinet, spirited and emotional. Kim looked exhausted and relieved at the end, happy to have escaped unscathed.

I smiled at the sight. Welcome back, Delgani String Quartet.