DOUBLE RACHMANINOFF ON THIS WEEKEND’S UTAH SYMPHONY SEASON OPENER

UTAH SYMPHONY, Abravanel Hall, Sept. 14; second performance 8 p.m. Sept. 15, tickets at 801-355-2787, 888-451-2787, www.utahsymphony.org

The Utah Symphony opened its season Friday with a double dose of Rachmaninoff –  the First Piano Concerto and the Second Symphony.

Soloist in the concerto was the young Russian Yevgeny Sudbin, making his Utah Symphony debut. Sudbin has created quite a sensation in Europe, but he has yet to conquer the United States. But with the kind of playing he exhibited Friday that should be an easy task.

The 32-year-old has a history with the four Rachmaninoff concertos and has recorded all of them, so he knows this music intimately – and he certainly was impressive in his performance.

Sudbin has amazing technical chops which he displayed in the outer movements. And his lyrical side is no less remarkable as he brought expressive nuances to his reading of the Andante.

And to their credit, neither the soloist or Thierry Fischer, the evening’s conductor, allowed the music to wallow in sentiment. Everything was well balanced and articulated.

The same held true for the Second Symphony. Fischer’s interpretation wasn’t overly sentimental – in fact, he underplayed it, much to the music’s benefit.

The orchestra played wonderfully, with clean articulation and well crafted phrases. And principal clarinet Tad Calcara played his solo in the slow movement with expressiveness and feeling.

The concert opened with Stravinsky’s brief minute-long Greeting Prelude, which he wrote for the 80th birthday of the legendary conductor Pierre Monteux – the conductor who premiered his Le sacre du printemps in 1913.

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About Edward Reichel

Edward Reichel, author, writer and composer, has been covering the classical music scene in Utah since 1997. For many years he served as the primary music critic for the Deseret News. He has also written for a number of publications, including Chamber Music Magazine, OPERA Magazine, 15 Bytes, Park City Magazine and Salt Lake Magazine. He holds a Ph.D. in composition from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He can be reached at ed.reichel@gmail.com. Reichel Recommends is also on Twitter @ReichelArts.

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