Elgar's Cello Concerto & Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5

I always love attending the opening concert for Utah Symphony's Masterworks series because the orchestra plays "The Star-Spangled Banner."  I think it is very moving to hear it performed in Abravanel Hall, more so than in any other setting, and last night was no exception.  After the anthem, the concert began with Medea's Dance of Vengeance by Samuel Barber and it is very dark and ominous (it is based on the myth of Medea and Jason and focuses on how she killed her children in a jealous rage to punish their father for abandoning her) but also very lush.  I especially liked the eerie xylophone solo at the beginning, the mournful themes played by the strings and brass, and a relentless theme repeated by the piano with frenzied rhythms played by the percussion that build in intensity until the dramatic conclusion.  Next, the orchestra was joined by soloist Zlatomir Fung for Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto.  This piece was written in the aftermath of World War I by an aging composer as a poignant farewell to the pre-war world he once knew and, as Principal Guest Conductor Delyana Lazarova told the audience, it is his most personal work.  The piece begins with a slow and solemn solo by the cello and these themes are repeated several times throughout, sometimes in fiery bursts of virtuosity (I loved watching Fung's nimble finger work) and sometimes in heartbreaking elegiac passages, with the rest of the orchestra acting as a sparse accompaniment.  The final movement returns to the themes of the first and ends on a defiant note to signal that, although we may never return to our earlier triumphs, we can persevere.  I loved this piece as well as Fung's brilliant performance which resulted in a well-deserved standing ovation.  After the intermission, the concert concluded with Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5.  This was written at the height of World War II as a tribute to the triumph of the human spirit (and was first performed in Moscow after news of a great victory against the Germans on the Vistula River).  I loved all of the soaring melodies played by the flute, bassoon, and clarinet in the first movement, the use of the trumpets and brass to evoke the machinery of war in the second movement, and the energetic conclusion featuring the strings, piano, harp, and percussion.  This concert was an absolutely thrilling way to begin the 2026-2027 season and I recommend getting a ticket (go here) for tonight's performance of the same program.