PARK CITY INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL, Park City Community Church, Monday.
PARK CITY — The Park City International Music Festival opened its 19th season in typical fashion — a rich variety of chamber music served with passion and enthusiasm.
Mozart, Milhaud, Chopin and Szymanowsky have seldom been played better than they were Monday evening by festival regulars Manuel Ramos, violin; Evan Drachman, cello; Gail Niwa, piano; along with husband and wife directors Leslie Harlow, viola, and Russell Harlow, clarinet.
It was a particular pleasure seeing Niwa back in Park City after a two-year absence. A part of the festival for the past 10 years, Niwa has been forced to forego appearing at the mountain resort for various reasons over the past two years, and her absence was acutely apparent.
The gold medalist at the 1991 Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, Niwa is a pianist of imposing artistry, a musician who possesses flawless technique and impressive musicality. Her playing sparkles with exuberance and vitality. And at Monday's concert, Niwa showed once again that she is equally at home with music as disparate as Mozart and Szymanowsky.
Park City audiences usually see Niwa as part of an ensemble. But at the opening night concert, she had the opportunity of being spotlighted in two solo works — Szymanowsky's "Scheherazade" and Chopin's Ballade in F minor, op. 52.
Niwa displayed her immense talent to the fullest in both works. In Szymanowsky's descriptive and colorful "Scheherazade," a work that also craves the utmost in technical dexterity from the pianist, Niwa was absolutely stunning in her delivery.
Chopin's F minor Ballade, on the other hand, is a work of sublime beauty, and Niwa brought out the intimacy of the music with her subtle playing. Her interpretation was introspective and tinged with a poignancy that few pianists manage to capture. It was remarkably lyrical and expressive.
The concert opened with Milhaud's deliciously witty Suite for violin, clarinet and piano. Ramos, Niwa and Russell Harlow captured the carefree mood of the work with its mix of styles, including jazz, perfectly with their light and airy playing.
The evening ended with an emotionally charged performance of Mozart's magnificent Piano Quartet in G minor, K. 478. One of the masterpieces for the medium, the G minor Quartet is a fabulously profound work filled with vitality and passion.
Ramos, Drachman, Niwa and Leslie Harlow infused their playing with insight and understanding, giving a performance that was articulate, forceful and, above all, eloquent.
E-MAIL: ereichel@desnews.com