Nathan Cole and his wife and fellow Chicago Symphony violinist Akiko Tarumoto perform at the UBS Chamber Music Festival of Lexington Aug. 28, 2009. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

This could have easily been the Nathan Cole Show.

That was what the UBS Chamber Music Festival of Lexington hung its first edition in 2007: Hometown guy made good Nathan Cole, a violinist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, came back to Lexington to launch  the chamber fest in the tres horsey venue of the Fasig-Tipton Pavilion, which usually hosts horse auctions.

But from the beginning, Cole, the festival’s artistic director, has made the event an ensemble effort, and that’s why it’s great.

Friday’s opening night concert gave the quintet of Cole, violinist Akiko Tarumoto, cellist Priscilla Lee, violist Burchard Tang and pianist Alessio Bax its best chance yet to show the depth of their skills with Alfred Schnittke’s Piano Quintet.

Bax opened the piece with great use of a verbal introduction, talking about the quintet’s painful origins. It was inspired by the tragic death of Schnittke’s mother who fell and froze to death in the streets of Moscow. Knowing the story gave the audience an on ramp to the quintet which challenged listeners with its quiet, menacing tones that provide lots of emotion but little conventional beauty. This is tough music to play, throwing the musicians little they are used to with abrupt starts and stops and challenging blends.

Cellist and composer Clancy Newman played with the Chamber Music Festival of Lexington's string quartet on Franz Schubert's "String Quintet."

But, led by Bax, the group executed it flawlessly, allowing the listener to focus on the music’s mysterious allure.

The first half of Friday’s concert was bookended by smaller efforts, Bax and Tarumoto teaming to open the show with a spirited rendition of Johannes Brahms’ Sonatensatz: Scherzo in c minor, and guest composer and cellist Clancy Newman closing the first half with his solo composition Pizzicato Piece.

The cello work was a fun little jam, seeming to have roots in Newman’s rock band days. Saturday night, the festival’s core group will present the world premier of Newman’s new piano quintet Dream Sequence.

The funny thing watching the musicians play the distinctly modern Schnittke and Newman was knowing they would turn around and play Franz Schubert after intermission. Newman joined the string quartet for Schubert’s Quintet for Strings in D. While it was a return to traditional melodies and harmonies, the piece tapped some of the same emotions of the Schnittke and even gave Newman more pizzicato to play.

Though this group only assembles once a year, they are stunningly unified, and you have to think the next time they come town they ought to get into a recording studio.

The Chamber Music Festival of Lexington started on the strength of Cole’s talent as a violinist. It has become a testament to his humble skill as an artistic director.

The festival continues Saturday and Sunday.