By Alisha Hagey and Jason Hagey
Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah presents the music of Joaquín Rodrigo as played exquisitely by Pablo Sáinz Villegas. The guest conductor is Richard Egarr, whose masterful, if not gleeful, direction is as wonderful to watch as it is to hear. Together, Villegas and Egarr produce an evening both passionate and mesmerizing: one of the best nights of orchestral music I have ever attended.
The night begins with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s extraordinary Symphony No. 31 in D Major, K. 300a “Paris.” The piece was born in Paris as Mozart sought to find an audience and, more importantly, a job in France. He pandered to the Parisian masses and the work is gorgeous and unique among Mozart’s oeuvre. The beginning is powerful, opening with the intent to grab you from the moment the orchestra comes alive. The whole of it is a play between hard and soft, slight melodies growing into massive swelling crescendos in five measures.
Egarr conducts the many trills by turning his wrists above his head. He seems to rotate between the left and right hand with an almost lackadaisical attitude towards the music, but the details and dynamics are meticulously led. Egarr uses his whole body, and it feels like watching a master painter work on canvas in a flurry of passion. The orchestra plays with so much abandon. Many in the orchestra seem to move their bodies like the conductor, capturing the whimsy of the whole piece.
Without a doubt—without an equal—the crowning moment, the sparkling gem of the evening, is Villegas. He strides across the stage with a confident gait, guitar in hand, and sits next to the conductor. Unlike the first piece, Egarr and orchestra respectfully hold back in full physical motions so as not to detract from Villegas. Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar and Orchestra captures the listener and transports us back in time, using tones reminiscent of nature. In the composer’s own words, the concerto is “the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains” in the gardens of Aranjuez.
Playing Aranjuez, Villegas is enraptured, feeling every note, every chord, with a depth that appears to resonate from the furthest parts of his soul. To say he is masterful would be to understate the sheer magnificence of watching Villegas play. His virtuosity is enormous; his pleasure in playing is intense. As the haunting oboe, which is followed by bassoon and French horn, echoes the guitar, we feel Rodrigo’s flowers blossoming and turning as the earth moves, following the sun.
Villegas’ performance captures the audience and we coax him into two separate encores. Both pieces are by Francisco Tárrega. The first is Gran Jota de Concierto, where Villegas uses his guitar strings as a snare drum while playing on the neck. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It is astounding. The second is the transcendent Memories of the Alhambra. There is only one word for it: breathtaking. I’ve seen a lot of classical guitar, but this is beyond. Villegas has complete mastery and complete control. In the end, the audience cannot get enough, but Villegas blows a kiss and exits.
After a lengthy intermission where Villegas isigns CDs in the foyer, we return to Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61. This is the capstone of the evening. Blown away by Villegas’ inspired interpretations, we are treated to something beautiful. It feels like lying on the beach and letting the tide sweep over you. During the first movement, the cellos and bass are on point, and the French horn shines. During the second movement, the music swells in dramatic rises and falls. During the third movement, the crystalline notes of the oboe are so hopeful in contemplation. Most of the piece is in the bright key of C, belying its melancholic meaning, infusing the music with joy and light. The third movement plays out and shares feeling with the audience like a revelation. Finally, the fourth movement has a triumphant sound carried by the horns (trombones and trumpets). Schumann is sublime.
While you may be tempted to spend your evening at the movie theatre, I plead with you to say, “The films will wait – but this music won’t.” Go spend a few hours with a masterful conductor, a strong symphony, and a prodigy playing the guitar. I am struggling to find words to describe how incredible the whole evening is; I only wish for even more. You still have one more chance to be enlightened and enriched by the three pieces of music whose sounds are not alike but whose feeling of lightness and hope can connect us all. Villegas and Egarr are real-life superheroes well worth seeing.
The Utah Symphony Presents: Villegas Plays Concierto de Aranjuez
Abravanel Hall, 123 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
March 26, 2019 7:30 PM, March 27, 2019 7:30 PM
Tickets: $15 – $84
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