Appalachian Spring

I really enjoyed last night's Utah Symphony concert because it featured such an eclectic program.  The orchestra was joined by pianist Awadagin Pratt for Johann Sebastian Bach's Keyboard Concerto in A Major.  What I really liked about this piece is that it features melodies played by the piano and strings together interspersed with showier passages for the piano.  Pratt has a light touch and is known for being agile, creative, and inventive so it was very entertaining watching his fingers fly up and down the keyboard.  He joined the orchestra once again to perform Rounds for Piano and String Orchestra by Jessie Montgomery.  According to Montgomery, it was inspired by the interconnectedness found in nature and how every living thing interacts with and impacts all of the living things around it with a multitude of outcomes.  I loved it because it evoked so many different emotions as I listened to it.  I especially enjoyed a passage where Pratt stood up to pluck the strings of the piano (I've never seen that before).  This piece was written specifically for Pratt and he improvises the conclusion so if you attend tonight's performance you will hear something entirely new.  After the intermission, the orchestra performed the Overture from The Greatest, an opera about Muhammad Ali composed by guest conductor Teddy Abrams.  He described it as loud, brash, and violent and I liked the urgency of the themes played by the strings, the bold fanfares by the brass, and the dramatic use of percussion.  The concert concluded with Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland in its entirety rather than just the Orchestral Suite which is normally performed.  I always love hearing this piece performed live because the themes of peace and remembrance during war are incredibly poignant.  I especially love the variations on the Quaker hymn "Simple Gifts" which is first developed by a solo clarinet and then repeated by various instruments.  I was really excited for this concert because of Appalachian Spring but I ended up loving Rounds just as much and I recommend getting a ticket to tonight's performance (go here) to hear both of them!