Just as the United States of America continues to be a work in progress, so is nailing down exactly what constitutes "American music." Even those who claim that jazz, blues, country and rock 'n' roll are uniquely American inventions have to admit that they're all descended from the folk forms of other cultures.

The genre with the biggest identity crisis of all might be classical music. The whole industry feels so devoted to European tradition that American composers often seem an afterthought, tardy arrivals to the party who will never gain admittance to the pantheon of classical greatness.

That makes this weekend's Minnesota Orchestra program a welcome rebuttal to this Old World approach. Under the direction of a wise veteran conductor, Thomas Wilkins, the orchestra performed three works written by American composers from 1930 to 1941 and tossed in some distinctly Mexican sounds from the pen of 21st-century composer Gabriela Ortiz.

So was Friday night's concert at Orchestra Hall a successful forum for American contributions to the classical form? Let's call it mixed. Wilkins and the orchestra made a pretty strong case that Roy Harris' Third Symphony deserves to be heard more often, if only to shake off its enigmatic edges and clarify the composer's vision even more. And here's a vote for more symphonies by Howard Hanson, as Friday's interpretation of his Second ("Romantic") Symphony was an unqualified triumph.

But the most popular piece on the program was also the one that left me most conflicted as to whether the interpretation worked or not. Samuel Barber's lone Violin Concerto is a fascinating piece, a kind of conversation between soloist and orchestra with some lovely lyricism and one of the most fiery finales of any violin concerto in the repertoire, a breakneck and breathtaking sprint to the finish.

The featured soloist was Ukrainian violinist Valeriy Sokolov, and my initial impressions were that this new visitor to our shores has a full, rich tone and exquisite technique when it comes to flying through the fast stuff.

Yet Friday's performance of the Barber concerto left me wondering if Sokolov and Wilkins shared the same vision for the piece. Fluctuating tempos sometimes landed the soloist and orchestra in different destinations, and balance was a nagging issue throughout, Sokolov's fingers flying but his notes sometimes inaudible beneath the explosive orchestra.

Yet the violinist displayed impressive enough skills to be judged a very promising talent, and his encore of Fritz Kreisler's Recitativo and Scherzo showed that Sokolov can deliver an adrenaline rush as capably as anyone.

The orchestra sounded very much back in balance on Ortiz's "Kauyumari," a fine piece of orchestration that echoes the folk styles of the composer's native Mexico. But the peak of the evening was Hanson's Second Symphony, which shone a bright and beautiful light on soloists throughout the orchestra, particularly Michael Gast on French horn.

If you haven't heard it, Hanson's symphony might still hold some familiarity, for it shares elements of the works of Hanson's hero, Jean Sibelius, and one of his teachers, Ottorino Respighi. And it's hard to escape the idea that Hollywood film composers were borrowing Hanson's ideas for decades.

Minnesota Orchestra
With: Conductor Thomas Wilkins and violinist Valeriy Sokolov
What: Works by Roy Harris, Samuel Barber, Gabriela Ortiz and Howard Hanson
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.
Tickets: $39-$106; 612-371-5656 or minnesotaorchestra.org

Rob Hubbard is a Twin Cities classical music writer. Reach him at wordhub@yahoo.com.