UTAH SYMPHONY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, St. Mary's Catholic Church, Park City, Wednesday.
PARK CITY — Sometimes it's better to stay at home, even if you have tickets to the symphony. Some performances just aren't worth the effort to attend — especially if you have to drive all the way to Park City.
Wednesday's concert by the Utah Symphony Chamber Orchestra was one such concert. The best comment that can be made is that it was inconsistent. The worst that can be said is that the chamber orchestra (or what passes for it during the summer) sounded like a high-school band trying to impress the teacher. It was one of the worst played and most flawed performances the chamber orchestra has given in years.
There are several reasons for this musical joke that tried to pass itself off as a concert. One of the major problems was guest conductor Peter Rubardt, who exhibited no musical sense whatsoever. His interpretations had only two dynamic levels, fortissimo and piano (Prokofiev's "Classical" Symphony), or they were devoid of any expressive content (Beethoven's Symphony No. 2).
Balance was also problematic throughout the evening. And this is neither the conductor's nor the orchestra's fault. It can be blamed squarely on the fact that there was no rehearsal time in St. Mary's Church prior to the concert. It is inexcusable not to have at least a run-through in the venue in which a concert will take place. You can't expect the acoustic conditions of a concert hall in a church. There are some notable acoustical differences, and these differences need to be addressed.
Problems with balance among the sections of the orchestra were at its most garish in the Prokofiev. The brass overpowered everything else. And Rubardt made no attempt during the performance to get the brass to tone down its playing. It would have sounded better had the woodwinds been in the back of the altar and further away from the strings and the brass and timpani outside the church. Then they could have blasted away to their heart's content.
The manner in which the orchestra played Wednesday sounded as if it wanted to get this concert over and done with. The musicians just went through the motions — there was no emotional involvement in the music they played, and consequently their performance was monotonous and dull.
Finally, intonation was incredibly slack in the first violins. It was surprising to hear the first violin section of a professional orchestra sound this careless and sloppy. Of course, you can blame it on the altitude — every guest artist who plays in Utah does — but the fact remains that the symphony plays under high altitude conditions week in and week out. So that excuse doesn't work. What it really comes down to is indifference on the part of the players and, ultimately, the conductor.
There was one bright spot, though, at this otherwise forgettable concert — Louise Vickerman's radiant performance of Debussy's "Danse sacree et danse profane." Vickerman, the symphony's principal harp, played the work gorgeously. Her delicate phrasings and her sensitively expressed nuances captured the warmth of the sacred and the rich vibrancy of the profane.
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com