Schubert's Symphony No. 6 at St. Mary's Church

Last night I drove up to Park City for a Utah Symphony concert at St. Mary's Church as part of the Deer Valley Music Festival.  St. Mary's is such a cool venue for a concert because it is a beautiful church with a large wall of windows through which you can see amazing views of mountains and pine trees and I look forward to seeing at least one concert here every summer.  Last night's concert began with Symphony No. 61 by Franz Joseph Haydn and it was really fun.  Guest conductor Chelsea Gallo talked about all of the humorous elements and throughout the piece she turned to the audience to let us know when to laugh (she was very charming).  I especially loved the whimsical themes played by the oboe, bassoon, and flute in the second movement.  Next came Romance No. 1 for Violin by Ludwig van Beethoven with Associate Concertmaster Kathryn Eberle as soloist.  Not much is known about why Beethoven wrote this shorter piece (along with Romance No. 2) but it is very beautiful and I loved the themes played by the violin (an exquisite performance by Eberle) which were then echoed by the orchestra.  Eberle joined the orchestra once again as soloist for Havanaise by Camille Saint-Saens.  This is based on a dance that originated in Cuba in the mid-nineteenth century and then became popular in Spain.  It has a distinctive repeating rhythm that begins with the cellos and is heard throughout.  The solo violin is quiet and reflective at times and then has some fiery virtuoso passages (featuring another brilliant performance by Eberle) and I loved it!  After the intermission, the concert concluded with Symphony No. 6 by Franz Schubert.  This piece was written when Schubert was only twenty years old but it wasn't performed until after his death.  I really enjoyed it, especially the melody played by the clarinet and the bassoon and then the response from the oboe and flute in the first movement.  It was a lovely evening listening to the Utah Symphony in a beautiful setting and I highly recommend getting a ticket to one of the remaining concerts at St. Mary's Church (or one of the concerts at Deer Valley).  Go here for tickets and information.