Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1

I have been fighting a cold for most of the week and it pretty much had me down for the count but I was bound and determined to make it to the Utah Symphony concert last night because one does not miss Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 if one can help it!  I am glad that I made the effort because the performance was amazing!  The orchestra, under the baton of guest conductor Ludovic Morlot (a last minute replacement for the injured Thierry Fischer), began with the Overture to Prima la musica poi le parole by Antonio Salieri.  I have to admit that I was very excited for this piece because of the fictional rivalry between Salieri and Mozart in the movie Amadeus (which is not only one of my favorite movies but it is also the reason I became a fan of classical music).  Salieri's music is portrayed as pedestrian in comparison to Mozart's in the movie but I think this operetta, which debates the relative merits of music and drama in opera, is really charming and exuberant.  Then the orchestra was joined by soloist Andrei Korobeinikov, making his U.S. debut, for one of my very favorite pieces, Piano Concerto No. 1 by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  Those instantly recognizable opening notes by the brass get me every time because they provide such an explosive burst of energy to begin a highly emotional piece!  The themes played by the solo piano are sometimes incredibly passionate and tempestuous and then almost unbearably beautiful and romantic!  There were many times when I found myself holding my breath because I was so overcome!  Korobeinikov played it with so much feeling and expression and earned a well deserved standing ovation!  After the intermission, the orchestra performed a new piece by Augusta Reed Thomas called Dance Foldings (she was there to introduce it) which is meant to mimic the dance of proteins within the body.  There are random bursts of sound from every section but I especially enjoyed all of the percussion and the emphasis periodically provided by the brass.  The concert concluded with Symphony No. 2 by Charles Ives.  I think of Ives' music as quintessentially American and it was really fun picking out snippets of other American classics, such as "Bringing in the Sheaves," "America the Beautiful," "Camptown Races," and "Turkey in the Straw," throughout.  I loved this concert as much as the previous ones this season, which has been spectacular so far, and I definitely recommend getting a ticket for tonight's performance of the same program (go here).