INTERMEZZO SCORES ANOTHER HOME RUN WITH MONDAY’S CONCERT

INTERMEZZO CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES, Vieve Gore Concert Hall, Westminster College, July 29

The flute wasn’t one of Mozart’s favorite instruments; he much preferred the oboe. But for someone who professed a distaste for the instrument he certainly left behind a few gems.

One of them is the Flute Quartet in D major, K. 285, which opened Monday’s Intermezzo Chamber Music Series concert. Specifically written for a flutist, the work naturally places the instrument in the foreground of the ensemble, and the Utah Symphony’s Mercedes Smith played the flute part with refined expressiveness that brought out the lyricism of the piece.

Joining her were symphony colleagues David Porter, violin; Brant Bayless, viola; and John Eckstein, cello. Their reading captured the classical lines of the work with their finely sculpted playing.

Not in the program, and coming as a complete surprise to the audience, the hall went dark after the first movement. Suddenly and unexpectedly someone recited some verse and when the stage lights came on, Smith proceeded to play a piece for solo flute by Elliott Carter. When that was done, the four continued on with the Mozart.

The first half concluded with a radiant account of Joaquin Turina’s Sextet for Viola, Piano and String Quartet, with Bayless and pianist Kimi Kawashima in the solo parts. The other string players included the same players from the Mozart along with violinist Julie Wunderle and violist Julie Edwards.

Bayless brought a wonderfully defined sense of expressiveness to his playing that underscored the luminous character of the music. That was mirrored by his colleagues; together they brought remarkable lyricism to their reading.

The second half opened with a quartet by a composer who no doubt is unknown to most concertgoers today: Juan Arriaga. He was only 20 when he died in 1826 and consequently didn’t leave a large body of work behind. But what he did manage to write in his short life showed him to be a talented composer who had the potential to be a major figure in the 19th century.

His Third String Quartet has an almost Mozartian clarity in its harmonic language and structure. It is a wonderfully balanced piece that the musicians (Porter, Wunderle, Edwards and Eckstein) played with refined expressions and clean lines.

Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp closed out the concert. Smith, Bayless and harpist Louise Vickerman gave a sensitive account that captured the esoteric yet lyrically formulated character of the work.

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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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