By Kathryn Olsen
Utah Symphony frequently inspires and exhilarates its audiences, but the program for this weekend’s Louis Schwizgebel Plays Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 at Salt Lake City’s Abravanel Hall is a true soul-stirrer. It includes music inspired by Peruvian dances, a concerto by a familiar name, and an unexpectedly timely performance that reminds attendees of a time of great tragedy in the former Soviet Union. I have loved this last piece since adolescence and was thrilled to see it return to the Hall for the first time in ten years.
The program opens with Gabriela Lena Frank’s Escaramuza. The work is meant to emulate a Peruvian kachampa dance symbolizing an Incan warrior and it easy to imagine just that from the intricate and driving bass drum solos to the frenetic melodies and counterpoints in the rest of the piece. It is the most contemporary piece on the program—Frank premiered it in 2010–and both heart-pounding and exciting.
By comparison, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s Piano Concerto No. 12 is mild-mannered. It was written when the composer was 28 years old and is simpler than some of his other solo works, but it demands great artistic soul and technical precision. The guest soloist, Swiss pianist Louis Schwizgebel, demonstrates both throughout the entirety of the concerto. He plays each variation of the themes so that the audience can hear the different conversations being carried out between soloist and ensemble and his interpretation of the second movement is profoundly contemplative before embracing the wit and quirkiness of the final movement.
The last piece of the program, Dmitri Shostakovich‘s Symphony No. 5, came after an intermission during which an on-stage screen displayed quotes about the intersection of life and the arts. This included quotations from the Ukrainian National Anthem and each of the excerpts was met with applause from members of the audience. Conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong returned to the stage with Utah Symphony president Steven Brosvik and indicated that, like many ensembles, they considered changing the program in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Brosvik then reminded the audience of Shostakovich’s struggles as an artist in Russia under Josef Stalin and the threats and denouncements he faced throughout his life. Shostakovich composed this symphony, afraid of what might happen to him and his family while colleagues and friends were imprisoned or killed. Before proceeding with the last piece of the program, Lecce-Chong led the orchestra in standing and playing the Ukrainian National Anthem while the audience rose to its feet to honor the people of that country. Then, after moments of silence, he conducted the first beats of “A Soviet’s Creative Reply to Just Criticism.”
Shostakovich’s fifth symphony itself is deeply moving. The discordant and commanding opening is contrasted with melancholy melodies and the jaunty waltz beat of the second movement is set against a domineering motif from the lower instruments. The lamentations heard in the third movement are often interpreted as a requiem for those who affected by the Purges under Stalin’s regime and the finale, which starts with a riveting brass march over a thunderous timpani beat, frenetically fights against the sternness of the music until it is converted into a triumphant passage at the end. Lecce-Chong’s interpretation is acutely observant of the tension and resolve as well as the unresolved conflicts in the context of the score. He takes chances with tempos that take an existing energy and push the emotional experience to a higher level. The standing ovation at the end was not as famously long as the symphony’s 1937 premiere, but it was an overwhelming affirmation of how the music had affected those in attendance.
This program has one more performance and it is an unforgettable experience, so make your way to the box office now. You will enjoy a night of music to reawaken emotions of all kinds.
Utah Symphony Presents Louis Schwizgebel Plays Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12.
Abravanel Hall, 123 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
March 3-5, 2022, 7:30 PM
Tickets:: $10.50-95.00
Contact: 801-533-5626
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