Dmitry Sinkovsky can do things that no other classical musician can.

Let me give you an example: On Thursday night at Minneapolis' Temple Israel, Sinkovsky had just concluded an exuberant and very exciting interpretation of one of Antonio Vivaldi's copious concertos with a final-movement violin cadenza that sounded like an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo, all flying fingers, smoke seemingly emanating from his bow, the notes speeding by at an astonishing pace.

Of course, the audience rose to its feet at the concerto's conclusion. After absorbing the adulation for a few minutes, Sinkovsky pulled a surprise on the near-capacity crowd. He burst into song, displaying a powerful and expressive countertenor voice on John Dowland's "Come Again, Sweet Love," accompanied only by harpsichordist David Belkovski.

Now, if anyone in the crowd had caught the Moscow-born Sinkovsky's local debut in December 2023, they might have been prepared for his jaw-dropping versatility. That's when he led the SPCO, local choir the Singers and three vocal soloists in George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" oratorio, not only conducting, but performing on violin and providing the countertenor solos.

On this night, baroque music was once again largely the order of the evening. And Sinkovsky demonstrated why he's gained an international reputation for works from that period. Acting as concertmaster, he and his violin led the SPCO in an operatic overture and a concerto grosso by Handel, both expertly executed. He then coaxed the orchestra into having more fun with the music of Vivaldi than I believe I've ever experienced in decades of attending their concerts.

If following that up with the Dowland encore weren't enough, Sinkovsky set down his violin and conducted Mozart's 40th (and arguably greatest) Symphony during the concert's second half, bouncing, dancing and suffusing the interpretation with enthusiasm.

The performance surely brightened the mood of an audience that had come to a sad realization before the concert began, thanks to a curtain speech from violinist Nina Tso-Ning Fan: This would be the SPCO's final concert at Temple Israel, a venue at which it has performed more than 250 times since 1978. The orchestra has jettisoned some of its Neighborhood Series venues from the season schedule, and south Minneapolis joins Wayzata, Arden Hills and Stillwater as places where SPCO concerts will live only in memory.

I caught some great ones at Temple Israel, and I'll look back upon Thursday's concert as one of them. Sinkovsky and the orchestra brought a becoming darkness to two works by Handel — the overture to his opera "Agrippina," and the sixth of his Concerti Grossi — bringing an almost period-instrument sound to the pieces.

Then the Vivaldi blazed forth brightly. Bearing a long-winded but unimpeachably accurate title — the Concerto in D for Violin, Two Oboes, Two Horns, Timpani, Strings and Harpsichord — it featured fine solo turns by all of the above, the French horns of Matthew Wilson and Michael Petruconis resonating off the upstage stone wall and filling the hall, Cassie Pilgrim and Barbara Bishop's oboes singing merrily, and Steve Kimball's timpani seizing upon each turn in the spotlight.

At the conclusion of a splendid rendition of Mozart's 40th, Sinkovsky made his way around the stage and shook the hand of every musician. And the congratulations were well deserved. Let's hope this is a partnership that's revisited in coming seasons.

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra

With: Violinist and conductor Dmitry Sinkovsky.

What: Works by George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi and Mozart.

When: 7 p.m. Sat.

Where: Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul.

Tickets: $16-$68 (students and children free), at 651-291-1144 or thespco.org.