Normally, I devote my end-of-the-year column to reviewing some of the memorable moments in classical music. And there have been some wonderful concerts this year, thanks mainly to the talented amateur musicians in our community organizations.

But as far as the Utah Symphony & Opera went, the year has been a roller coaster ride. There were a few bright spots, to be sure, but the year was abysmally uninspired. (More on this later.)

Locally, the major news story this year was the announcement in November that Keith Lockhart would step down as music director of the Utah Symphony at the end of the 2008-09 season. Lockhart gave two reasons for his decision: He wants to spend more time with his family and he's interested in pursuing more guest-conducting engagements in the United Sates and particularly in Europe.

By 2009, Lockhart will have led the Utah Symphony for 11 years. Lockhart stepping down at this point is the right decision for everyone concerned. It gives him more freedom to see where his conducting skills take him. And with a new music director at the symphony helm, it will, hopefully, open the door to new creative ideas.

But only, of course, if a suitable person is chosen to succeed Lockhart.

The next 2 1/2 years will give the symphony ample opportunity to find someone to take over and steer the organization down the right path artistically. The symphony will be appointing a search committee, and, hopefully, the musicians' opinions will be taken into account when the short list of candidates is made — and, ultimately, the final decision.

Speaking of right decisions, whoever came up with the Utah Symphony's new slogan, "Awaken your better self," should have his or her head examined. For years, the symphony has been downplaying the perceived "elitist" image that classical music has for many. But this new slogan wallows in elitism. For some reason, symphony management is trying to persuade those of us who attend classical concerts that we're "better" than people who don't.

The slogan is repulsive. It does absolutely nothing to encourage people who already attend classical concerts to continue to do so. (Just look around at all the empty seats in Abravanel Hall. With very few exceptions, the symphony is consistently playing to less-than-full houses. Of course, there are more reasons for this than just a stupid slogan. Innovative programming, which has been almost nonexistent for the past several years, is a major factor in attracting audiences.)

Nor does the slogan encourage people who've never been to the symphony to try it. Symphony management needs to come up with constructive ideas to retain current concertgoers and bring in new concertgoers, rather than just trying to be clever.

Other than a few superb concerts, Utah Symphony programming this past year has been rather predictable. The exceptions were a first-rate performance of Bela Bartok's one-act opera "Bluebeard's Castle" last spring, Sarah Chang's dynamic playing of Johannes Brahms' Violin Concerto in November and a resplendent account of Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio "Elijah" earlier this month, under guest conductor Kenneth Montgomery.

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Aside from the Utah Symphony, a highlight worth mentioning is Jesus Morales' impassioned and heartfelt performance of Antonin Dvorak's Cello Concerto with the Salt Lake Symphony.

Morales, who regularly subs with the Utah Symphony, was also a frequent guest at this summer's Park City and Salt Lake City Music Festival and at the Autumn Classics Music Festival. These two festivals once again brought some much-needed consistency and integrity to this year's concert offerings.

Festival directors Leslie and Russell Harlow proved yet again that with the right mixture of music and musicians, you can have concerts that are imaginative and entertaining without compromising artistic standards.


E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com

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