UTAH SYMPHONY, with Keith Lockhart, conductor, and Benny Kim, violin. Abravanel Hall, Friday evening, April 23; second performance, 8 p.m., Saturday, April 24; tickets through ArtTix, 355-2787.This weekend's concerts mark Keith Lockhart's final appearances with the Utah Symphony during the regular season. For his first season finale, Lockhart chose an all-20th century program. That, apparently, frightened a goodly number of people into staying home. There were quite a few empty seats in Abravanel Hall Friday evening. They missed out on a generally good concert.
The concert began with John Adams' "Slonimsky's Earbox." Written in 1996, the piece is typical for Adams. It's a minimalist work, in which melodic and/or rhythmic phrases are constantly repeated.
There are some colorful moments in the orchestration, but other than that, there isn't much to say about it. Adams goes for the cheap cliche rather than substantive material. He's a clever composer, but that's no substitute for real talent.
The highlight of the concert was Benny Kim's stirring performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto. Kim is an amazing violinist. His artistry and mastery of his instrument are profound. His interpretation brought out the essence of this magnificent work.
Kim coaxed a lush, romantic tone out of his violin. His performance, too, was highly romantic, but it never turned sentimental.
After intermission, Lockhart and the orchestra played two Hungarian works. The first was Kodaly's "Peacock Variations." Not as well-known as some of his other works, the variations are nonetheless one of his finest works.
Traces of impressionism are noticeable in some of the variations. This blends very nicely with the predominantly folk-like character of large sections of this work.
The final work on the program was Bartok's "Dance Suite." This, too, uses a good deal of folk tunes for its musical structure. Lockhart and the orchestra did a good job here, better than with the "Peacock Variations." The slow sections were at risk of falling apart in the Kodaly, but Lockhart managed to keep things moving in the Bartok.