UTAH SYMPHONY WITH MARC-ANDRE HAMELIN, Abravanel Hall, Friday; additional performance today, 2 p.m. (355-2787).
This week's Utah Symphony concerts are under the baton of guest conductor Stefan Sanderling, the recently appointed music director of the Florida Orchestra and a frequent guest conductor in both the United States and Europe. The German conductor left his mark with the orchestra and audience Friday evening with his authoritative direction. He elicited an articulate and dynamic performance from the orchestra in a richly varied program of Mussorgsky, Mozart and Shostakovich.
Without question, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, which was the sole work on the second half of the program, made the greatest impact of the evening. Written in 1937 to redeem himself in the eyes of the Soviet Union's critics, the Fifth is one of Shostakovich's most potent and enduring works and a cornerstone in 20th century symphonic literature. Sanderling demanded an intensely driven and bold reading, and the orchestra responded by delivering a superbly executed and compelling performance.
In the first movement, Sanderling plumbed the emotions that course through the music, from the anguished opening to the martial beat that overtakes it to the melancholy strain that ends it.
The second movement is the first which explicitly exhibits the biting wit that would characterize the scherzos of Shostakovich's later symphonies. This movement is a wonderful showpiece for the orchestra's individual players as well as sections. And the members of the Utah Symphony gave a stunning performance, especially from the bassoons and French horns as well as from Russell Harlow on E flat clarinet.
The Largo is an utterly touching work filled with a sense of abandonment, and Sanderling gave a heartrending reading that captured the poignancy and expressiveness of the music. Principal oboe Robert Stephenson and principal clarinet Tad Calcara played their solos with particular beauty.
Boldly dramatic and lyrical, the final movement is in effect a summing up of the entire symphony, ending triumphantly with the composer unequivocally overcoming his adversaries.
Canadian pianist Marc-Andr Hamelin was the evening's soloist. He gave a captivating and stellar performance of Mozart's early "Jeunehomme" Concerto in E flat major, K. 271. For a pianist who has developed quite a reputation as an exponent of little-known music from the 19th century, Hamelin certainly knows how to play Mozart. His interpretation was wonderfully crafted and executed, crystalline in execution and flawless in technique. Of note was Hamelin's own cadenza in the second movement, which, while out of character for Mozart, was nevertheless effective.
The concert opened with a sumptuous reading of the prelude to Mussorgsky's opera "Khovanshchina."
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com