SALT LAKE SYMPHONY, James Caswell conducting, with pianist Lenora Ford Brown and organist Myron Patterson; Assembly Hall, Saturday, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m. One performance only.With a sizeable audience in attendance at the Assembly Hall, the Salt Lake Symphony gave a first-rate performance that was notable for its precision and balance. Led by James Caswell, the orchestra played crisply and decisively. Caswell is a much improved conductor. He is not so heavy-handed as he used to be, and he kept the various sections of the orchestra nicely in balance.
The program consisted of three works from the romantic repertoire. The concert opened with a solid performance of Beethoven's "Fidelio" overture. Caswell and the orchestra brought out the temperamental nature of this brief piece in a spirited and fast-paced interpretation that was well-crafted and finely-tuned.
The Beethoven was followed by a wonderful performance of Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, with local favorite Lenora Ford Brown as soloist.
Brown is an outstanding pianist who combines virtuosity with musicality. She delved into the Liszt and brought out the essence and character of this concerto. There was passion and fire in her performance, but also tenderness and disarming grace in an interpretation that was nuanced and deeply expressive.
The concerto is in one movement, but with three distinct sections corresponding to the fast-slow-fast movements of a conventionally-structured concerto. The work is also cyclical, in that the thematic material from the opening section recurs throughout the work in various transformations.
Liszt begins the piece with a slow, rhapsodic introduction that presents the musical material in the orchestra, with the piano playing arpeggiated chords as accompaniment.
This evolves into a fast section where the piano takes over the melodic material while accompanied by the orchestra.
The slow middle part of the concerto transforms some of the opening themes into a calm and peaceful interlude. The piano dominates here, occasionally accompanied by brief solos from the orchestra, most notably from the cello.
The serenity produced by this eloquent music is suddenly disrupted by a wild outburst from the orchestra, heralding the finale. The music here is fierce, frenzied and triumphant.
Caswell and the orchestra ended the concert with an exciting performance of Saint-Saens' Symphony No. 3 in C minor ("Organ"), with Myron Patterson at the organ.
This symphony is melodic, as is most of Saint-Saens' output. The music, though, is lightweight, and there is not much depth to it. And the finale is a bit bombastic.
In spite of its shortcomings, there are also some fine moments in this symphony. The slow movement, for example, is especially expressive and soft, and it was played with feeling and sensitivity by Caswell and the orchestra.