Monthly Archives: November 2014

FUMIAKI MIURA PLAYS WITH POLISH AND FINESSE AT UTAH SYMPHONY CONCERT

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UTAH SYMPHONY, Abravanel Hall, Nov. 21; additional performance 8 p.m. Nov. 22, tickets at 801-355-2787, 888-451-2787 or www.utahsymphony.org

The young Japanese violinist Fumiaki Miura made a big impression when he debuted with the Utah Symphony two years ago in Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy. And Friday, on his return visit to Abravanel Hall, he once again sounded marvelous, this time in Camille Saint-Saëns’ Third Concerto in B minor.

Miura showed he has the technical and musical chops to be a respected violinist at his inaugural Utah Symphony appearance. And if anything his performance on Friday showed more finesse and polish.

He also has a strong stage presence and personality that goes beyond his 21 years. He is quite a mature performer who will no doubt make a big name for himself in the years to come.

Saint-Saëns’ Third Violin Concerto is an expressive piece that requires of the soloist finely phrased and executed playing with a keen sense of lyricism — all of which Miura possesses. His playing captured the subtleties while delivering a well crafted account.

Thierry Fischer and the orchestra offered a well balanced counterpart to the soloist. It was a wonderfully interwoven collaboration that complemented Miura’s playing.

Also on the program this weekend are two works by Antonìn Dvorák — the incidental overture Mein Heim (My Home) and the Symphony No. 7 in D minor.

Both were played with passion and expression, and in the symphony in particular Fischer crafted a bold and robust reading that nevertheless emphasized the nuances of the score.

CANYONLANDS TO PERFORM WORKS BY YU-HUI CHANG

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Yu-Hui Chang

Yu-Hui Chang, a noted composer from Taiwan who now teaches at Brandeis University, will visit Salt Lake City next week as part of the University of Utah’s Maurice Abravanel Distinguished Composers Series.

While here Chang will give a lecture and a talk and have several of her works performed by the Canyonlands Ensemble.

Chang was born in 1970 in Taiwan and moved to the United States in 1994 to continue her music studies. She did graduate work at Boston University and Brandeis University in Massachusetts. She is currently the co-artistic director of Boston’s Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble.

As a composer, Chang has received numerous commissions and her works have been performed in several European countries, including the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom and Denmark, as well as in Asia, New Zealand and the United States.

Below is a schedule of events, all of which take place on Nov. 24 and are free and open to the public.

  • 10:45 a.m. – Lecture: Yu-Hui Chang’s Compositional Methods (David Gardner Hall 416).
  • 12 p.m. – Talk: “No, I Do Not Blend East and West” (Dumke Recital Hall, David Gardner Hall).
  • 7:30 p.m. – Concert: Canyonlands Ensemble. Music by Chang, Kurtág, Kagel, Berio and Xenakis (Dumke Recital Hall, David Gardner Hall).