Last night my friend Angela and I went to the final Utah Symphony concert of the 2018-2019 season and it was the perfect way to begin our summer break. A smaller chamber orchestra, who remained standing for the duration of the performance, began with Symphony No. 9 by Joseph Haydn. It had a very intimate and lighthearted feel to it and it did much to lift my spirits after a long and difficult week. Next, another chamber group performed Moz-Art a la Haydn by Alfred Schnittke with Associate Concertmaster Kathryn Eberle and Principal Second Violin Claude Halter as soloists. This piece was so much fun because it is a parody of Mozart's unfinished "Music to a Carnival Pantomime" and Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony. The piece began in the dark with the musicians improvising before beginning in earnest. As it progressed the musicians moved from place to place, actually mimicking a carnival atmosphere. Then, at the end of the piece, the musicians left the stage one by one as the lights went out leaving the conductor alone on a dark stage waving his baton to an absent orchestra. It was highly amusing! The main event came after the intermission when the full orchestra (including two sets of timpani and eight horns) performed Symphony No. 9 "Titan" by Gustav Mahler. To say that this piece was spectacular would be an understatement and I absolutely loved it! I especially loved the third movement which began with a theme played by the timpani and a solo bass and then built in intensity as other instruments joined in. It was very moody, atmospheric, and emotional (it sounded Russian to me) and it gave me goosebumps. This concert was an amazing way to conclude a marvelous season!
Note: I am looking forward to seeing the Utah Symphony perform in some outdoor venues this summer, especially concerts with Kristin Chenoweth and Renee Elise Goldsberry at Deer Valley! Go here to see their entire summer lineup.
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