NOVA CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Feb. 12

Sunday afternoon’s concert presented by the Nova Chamber Music Series featured works by J.S. Bach, Stravinsky, and Mozart. The music was performed with admirable clarity and energy, with the program organized in an unusual but interesting way. Each of the performers involved are current members of the Utah Symphony taking a break from their duties to play works for chamber string ensembles.

To open the concert, violinists Kathryn Eberle and David Porter, violist Roberta Zalkind, and cellist Pegsoon Whang performed five selections from Bach’s The Art of Fugue, along with Igor Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for String Quartet and Concertino for String Quartet. Rather than playing each work in its entirety before moving on to the next piece, the performers made the unusual choice of alternating between a movement of Bach’s music and a movement of Stravinsky’s music. While this decision proved unexpected, the result was appealing. The extreme contrast in styles made for a concert experience that seemed to zip along, with little chance of the music becoming monotonous.  Bach’s music was especially well played, with its counterpoint vividly executed by the performers. The Art of Fugue resides among the last works written by Bach, and the collection remains unfinished. Bach was working on its final movement (Contrapunctus XIX) at the time of his death, and the music reflects this by ending abruptly between cadences.

After the intermission, violist Brant Bayless joined the other musicians for a performance of Mozart’s String Quintet in C Major (K.515). For this work, violinist Eberle moved to the first chair position and immediately impressed the audience with a polished and expressive technique, along with a graceful musicality. Eberle is the newly appointed associate concertmaster of the Utah Symphony, taking over the seat held for many years by Gerald Elias. Sunday’s performance indicated that Eberle is certainly a welcome addition to the Salt Lake City music scene.

The other musicians were also up to the challenge. Mozart’s phrases, often delicate and lyrical, flowed with a sense of lightness and ease. The balance and intonation of the ensemble playing was nearly impeccable, as was the energy during the outer movements.