Tchaikovsky's 4th & The Red Violin

It seems like it has been quite a while since I've been at Abravanel Hall for a Utah Symphony concert!  It has been a very long week (it was the end of the term with lots of grading to do) so last night's concert was very much needed and I enjoyed it immensely!  The orchestra began with a suite of symphonic dances from Fancy Free by Leonard Bernstein.  I really enjoyed all three of them but I particularly loved the second one because it is so exuberant with a theme played by the timpani which is echoed by the brass.  Next, the orchestra was joined by Philippe Quint to perform John Corigliano's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra from The Red Violin.  The film tells the story of a mysterious violin and its many owners over the centuries.  The score, for which Corigliano won an Academy Award, is incredibly intense because the violin is almost like one of the characters.  Quint performed it magnificently with his bow flying across the violin in some of the more dramatic themes.  He received a well deserved thunderous standing ovation!  After the intermission, the orchestra played the piece I was most looking forward to:  Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.  I love Tchaikovsky because I think his music is so emotional and I love everything about Symphony No. 4, from the dramatic opening fanfare played by the horns to the final tumultuous crash of the cymbals!  I especially loved the theme played by the woodwinds in the second movement (which I think is quite melancholy) and the theme played by the strings in the third movement (which, in my opinion, is filled with such longing).  It was an incredible performance!  The orchestra was under the baton of guest conductor Andrew Litton and I thought his interactions with the musicians were adorable, especially when he blew kisses to the concertmaster!  I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) to tonight's performance of the same program.