Ludovic Morlot Conducts Stravinsky & Rachmaninoff

I love Rachmaninoff, especially Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, so last night's Utah Symphony concert will definitely be a highlight of the season for me because I got to hear it performed brilliantly by the orchestra and guest soloist Gerorge Li.  The concert began with The Fairy's Kiss by Igor Stravinsky.  This piece is a ballet based on the short story The Ice Maiden by Hans Christian Andersen and was written as an homage to Tchaikovsky to commemorate the 35th anniversary of his death.  It tells the story of a fairy who rescues an abandoned baby from a storm and then marks it with a kiss.  When the fairy encounters the baby again as a young man on the eve of his wedding, she kisses him again to claim him for herself.  Stravinsky blended several of Tchaikovsky's themes with his own for this ballet and I really enjoyed it.  I thought it was very lyrical and romantic, despite the somewhat tragic story, and I especially liked the themes played by the woodwinds and the brass.  After the intermission the orchestra played The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas.  It is based on a poem by Johann von Goethe about a young sorcerer who gets in over his head when attempting some of his master's magic but, when I heard the playful and whimsical music, all I could see was Mickey Mouse trying to control a broom in the movie Fantasia!  The concert concluded with the piece I had been waiting for all evening (I could hardly contain my excitement during the pieces that preceded it) and it definitely did not disappoint!  Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was inspired by Nicolo Paganini's Caprices for Solo Violin and includes 24 different variations.  I love all of them because they are all so beautiful and lush but my very favorite is the 18th variation because it is almost unbearably romantic and I was practically swooning during the whole thing (it is featured in the movie Somewhere in Time).  George Li gave an amazing performance (I loved watching his fingers fly up and down the keyboard) which garnered a boisterous standing ovation which was rewarded with an encore at its conclusion.  I loved this concert and I suggest that you stop what you are doing right now and get a ticket (go here) for the concert tonight which features the same program.  You will thank me later!