By Perry Whitehair and Cindy Whitehair
Utah Symphony scored a major coup in presenting Thierry Fischer Conducts Shostakovich at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City in the form of guest pianist Boris Giltburg. This talented pianist is making a very limited US tour before returning to Brussels, where he is serving a residency at Flagy and the Palais de Beaux Arts as well as being artist in residence with the Residentie Orkest in the Hague. Born in Moscow, Giltburg is the perfect match for Shostakovich because of their shared connection to the Russian experience.
My mother (says Cindy) was a classically trained pianist, so I grew up with the major Russian composers as part of my life. Mom played some Shostakovich, but I didn’t know the whole story behind his compositions. Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) wrote most of his works during the Stalin era. His virtuosity (as a pianist and composer) made him a rising star for the Soviet Empire, but that turned when Stalin (via Pravda) denounced his opera Lady MacBeth of the Mtsensk District. Shostakovich spent the rest of his composing career with the state ever present to approve/disapprove his compositions. Even then, Shostakovich got his musical “digs” in toward the establishment, as this evening’s offerings suggest.
The first two offerings are designed to showcase Giltburg on the piano. The evening opens with Concerto No. 1 in C Minor for Piano and Orchestra Op 35. This concerto consists of 4 movements instead of the traditional 3. The 3rd movement, Moderato, is short (2 minutes) and serves as more of an introduction to the 4th and final Allegro con Brio. The concerto also features Utah Symphony’s principal trumpet Travis Peterson. The trumpet parts were sparing, but delightful. Giltburg seemingly channels his countryman and becomes one with the music and the mood it sets – alternately pounding, then caressing the keys and at times his hands are a blur of motion as they fly up and down the keyboard. The orchestra for this piece is limited to just a handful of strings but while a smaller presence, they are still stellar. If you listen closely, you can hear the influences of Mahler, Beethoven, and Haydn in this concerto.
The second offering is Concerto No. 2 in F Major for Piano and Orchestra Op 102. This concerto added a few more pieces to the orchestra – woodwinds and drums provide a fuller orchestral experience. The concerto is more powerful, energetic, and cheerful. The 2nd movement, Andante, provides a romantic, introspective interlude before the energetic, often wild Allegro.
After a brief intermission to reset the stage, the full orchestra returns for Symphony No 10 in E Minor Op 93. It starts with a low lament from the cellos and basses – almost a testimony of the plight of the Russians under Stalin (as some suggest) and slowly builds in the 1st movement Moderato. The second movement Allegro is fast and frenetic almost anxious in nature. The 3rd movement Allegretto reminded me (Cindy) why I fell in love with the clarinet. The woodwinds, especially clarinet and oboe, are featured heavily in this movement. The 4th movement Andante spoke to Perry with its emphasis on brass – especially the haunting French Horn. Symphony No 10 is the musical equivalent to the literary “Russian soul” – a literary device for the Russian experience used by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. It is the entirety of the Russian identity, from the Czars to Stalin, wrapped up in musical form.
Fischer Conducts Shostakovich is a magical experience for anyone who has ever been enamored with the Romantics – composers, authors, or painters.
Utah Symphony presents Fischer Conducts Shostakovich
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Abravanel Hall, 123 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
April 27-28, 2018 7:30 PM
Tickets: $30+
This show is part of the Family Night series offering four tickets for $30 for parents and two children.
US Veterans are eligible to get free tickets to select symphony concerts through www.vettix.org
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