Next weekend's Utah Symphony concerts have a special significance for music director Keith Lockhart. One of the works on the program, Gabriela Frank's "Three Latin American Dances," will be particularly dear to his heart, because the composer dedicated it to Lockhart's son, Aaron Lin.
"Isn't it great? Eight months old and he's already got a dedication," the maestro quipped. "And he didn't have to do anything to get it."
He said that he had no idea Frank was going to dedicate the work to his son. "She sent the score to me about a month ago. I was just thumbing through it and came across the dedication. It was one of the sweetest things anyone could have done."
Lockhart said he knows Frank through his wife, violinist Lucia Lin. "Lucy and she have done quite a bit of work together at chamber festivals." (Besides being a member of the Boston Symphony's first-violin section, Lin is also second violinist with the Muir String Quartet.)
When he began listening to some of Frank's music, Lockhart discovered there was much to recommend. "She has a lot of talent, and her music has a lot of merit."
Frank was born in Berkeley, Calif., in 1972. Her heritage is Peruvian, and her ethnic background is reflected in her music. "The core of her music — not just in the 'Dances' but in all of her works — is ethnically driven," Lockhart said. "She's researched native South American music, but she isn't handcuffed by it. She writes very effective music."
Besides Frank's work, which will receive its world premiere at next weekend's concerts, the program includes Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Symphonic Dances" and Leonard Bernstein's "Symphonic Dances from 'West Side Story.' "
After Saturday's repeat performance, Lockhart and the Utah Symphony get a day off on Sunday before returning to Abravanel Hall on April 26 and 27 to record the same program for Dorian Records.
This will be a historic moment, since it's been nearly 20 years since the orchestra has recorded a CD on its own. During the past two decades, the Utah Symphony has made recordings, but except for the Winter Olympics album with John Williams in 2002, it's always been in collaboration with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir — most recently the Brahms "German Requiem" under the baton of choir music director Craig Jessop.
Lockhart admits that he chose this particular program to record because it would show off the symphony especially well. "This will be an effective live program, but I had my eye toward the recording. The combination of these three works creates a great balance in the concert hall and on an album."
The CD is scheduled to be released in March 2005.
If you go . . .
What: Utah Symphony, Keith Lockhart conducting
Where: Abravanel Hall
When: Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.
How much: $16-$47; $8 student rush tickets
Phone: 355-2787 or 1-888-451-2787
Web: www.utahsymphonyopera.org
Also: Free pre-concert lectures 45 minutes prior to each performance
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com