Matson taking center stage — with Spohr

The Utah Symphony didn't have to go far for this coming week's soloist. In fact, it looked among its own quartet of concertmasters. But while Ralph Matson has made an impressive name for himself as the Utah Symphony's concertmaster for the past 22 years, he's also been a familiar sight in front of his orchestra.

Matson has had an annual solo outing with the Utah Symphony for many years, and Wednesday he will once again step up and be featured, this time in Louis Spohr's captivatingly melodic Violin Concerto No. 8 in A minor ("Gesangsszene"), under the baton of guest conductor James Gaffigan. On the same program will be Haydn's Symphony No. 63 in C major ("La Roxelane") and Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 in B flat major.

This won't be the first time Matson has played Spohr's A minor Concerto. He performed it with the Utah Symphony once before. "That was more than 10 years ago, though," he told the Deseret Morning News by phone.

That is one of the reasons Matson wants to do it again. He feels it is time to bring it back. "It's been a part of my career, and when I was thinking about the summer repertoire, I thought a work from the late 18th or early 19th centuries would work."

Spohr, who lived from 1784 to 1859, was a contemporary of Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Paganini. And while he was celebrated in his lifetime as a composer, later assessments of his place in music have been consistently less than favorable. "Spohr had wonderful depth of talent and achievement," Matson said. "I think this (the A minor Concerto) is a magnificent piece, and the neglect that he's suffered has been terribly unjust."

The concerto is wonderfully lyrical, and the music has an operatic quality to it. And its subtitle alludes to the fact that it's written in the style of an extended vocal scene. "It's tremendously appealing melodically," Matson said. "It's delightful fiddle music."

The violin writing isn't as bravura as one finds in other concertos from the period, but it's still a challenge for the soloist. "He sets up the virtuoso elements," Matson said. "By the time you get to the final movement, you have some brilliant fiddle playing."

Besides being a touted composer, Spohr was also a renowned violin virtuoso who traveled the length and breadth of Europe. However, he had the misfortune of living at the same time as Paganini. "He was the exact contemporary of Paganini," Matson said. And even though Spohr by all accounts was a brilliant virtuoso, he was never able to come into his own as a violinist. He ended up living in his rival's shadow.