AUTUMN CLASSICS MUSIC FESTIVAL, St. Mary's Catholic Church, Park City, Thursday; continues through Oct. 8 (801-943-0169 or 435-649-5309)
Co-directors Leslie and Russell Harlow program a wide variety of works for their two festivals (the Park City and Salt Lake City Music Festival in the summer and the Autumn Classics in September and October).
One genre of chamber music, however, that is hardly ever featured is the string quartet. So when a quartet does appear on a program, it is a rare treat for the audience.
That happened Thursday in St. Mary's Catholic Church when violist Leslie Harlow was joined by violinists Charles Castleman and Airi Yoshioka and cellist Thomas Landschoot for Mozart's Quartet in B flat major, K. 589 (the second of the three so-called "Prussian Quartets").
The foursome, with Castleman as first violinist, displayed amazing chemistry as an ensemble as they explored this glorious score. They played with conviction and brought insight into the music.
It was a luminous reading of the quartet, one that captured the expressiveness and lyricism of the music with well-defined balance and delicately crafted phrasings. In particular, the exquisite slow movement, which sounds as if it were an aria from one of Mozart's operas that had been transcribed for strings, was played with a profound sincerity that brought out its emotional depth wonderfully. It was a nuanced as well as poetic and heartfelt interpretation.
Preceding the Mozart, and the work that opened the concert, was Khachaturian's seldom performed Trio for Violin, Clarinet and Piano. Unlike many of his other works that flounder in shallow melodicism without substantive content, this trio has real emotional depth and substance to it. An early work, it is a wonderfully crafted piece that is a showcase for all three musicians.
Yoshioka, clarinetist Russell Harlow and pianist John Novacek displayed impeccable artistry, playing the trio with heartfelt sincerity, tender expressiveness and fluid phrasings. Harlow in particular shone in this piece. His playing was sensitive with a fine ear for the subtleties of expression in the score.
Closing the concert was Brahms' Piano Quartet in G minor, op. 26, which was also played at Wednesday's opening night concert in Libby Gardner Concert Hall.
EReichel@desnews.com