UTAH SYMPHONY with CHO-LIANG LIN, guest violinist; Joseph Silverstein conducting; Abravanel Hall. Friday, Dec. 4; second performance, Saturday, Dec. 5, 8 p.m. Tickets through ArtTix locations or 355-2787.
Joseph Silverstein, who now holds the distinguished title of conductor laureate of the Utah Symphony, had the opportunity to appear both on the podium and in the soloist spotlight at Friday's concert. Silverstein shared the spotlight, though, with the evening's guest artist, violinist Cho-Liang Lin. Together they played Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra in A minor.This is a typical Vivaldi concerto, with the two soloists alternating between playing solo passages and playing together with the orchestra. It's a good little concerto, and both Lin and Silverstein did a fine job with it. Both were well-matched as soloists, and they also blended well with the string orchestra.
Lin returned to the stage to play Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major. This is an early work, written between 1915 and 1917, when the composer was in his mid-20s. Lin gave a strong performance here. He made his instrument shine. This isn't a very virtuosic concerto but a difficult one nonetheless. The soloist must put a lot of feeling into music that often comes across as being mechanical. And Lin resolved this problem magnificently.
Silverstein and the Utah Symphony began the evening with a strong performance of Dvorak's seldom-heard concert overture, "In Nature's Realm." This is a much more serious work than many of Dvorak's earlier pieces. The pastoral character of this work is overshadowed by some vivid dramatic gestures. Dvorak's Slavic melodies peek through at times, but they are quickly submersed within the overall seriousness of this piece.
Schumann's Symphony No. 2 in C major was the final work of the evening, and it brought the concert to a powerful end. Silverstein went for the large, dramatic gestures in this symphony. Right from the slow introduction to the first movement, with its fanfare motive, Silverstein and the orchestra put new life into this well-known work. It was a vibrant, decisive and well-paced performance.
Schumann's symphony offers some powerful contrasts, and Silverstein delivered. For example, he brought out the inherent tragedy and somberness of the slow third movement. But he also allowed the softness of the music, which is almost unparalleled in Schumann's output, to take flight. And from tragedy to victory, the final movement became a vivid portrayal of boundless, joyful triumph. Which, in this lucid performance, also became Silverstein's and the Utah Symphony's triumph.