Classical season couldn't top '02

Compared to last year, 2003 was relatively uneventful as far as classical music goes. The big news of 2002, of course, was the merger between the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera. However, nothing of that magnitude shook Salt Lake City this year.

When the merger was announced, plans were also being drawn up for a new large-scale summer music festival in Deer Valley, which would incorporate the orchestra, the opera and guest chamber ensembles. Details of the new Deer Valley Music Festival were unveiled last month during a press conference with Utah Symphony & Opera CEO Anne Ewers and music director Keith Lockhart at Snow Park Lodge.

The four-week festival, which will be the centerpiece of US&O's summer season starting next July, will offer audiences a much wider choice of programming, including Gilbert & Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore," the vocal ensemble Eighth Blackbird, the Ahn Trio, chamber music with the Muir Quartet and members of the Park City International Music Festival.

The analogy to the Boston Symphony's Tanglewood Festival is a fairly easy one to make — the variety of programming and the outdoor setting are just a couple of things they have in common. But whether Deer Valley becomes Tanglewood West is immaterial. I welcome the change in programming direction. Until now, there has been a dearth of classical music here during the summer. The new festival addresses this problem.

The merger has also brought us the concept of "visually enhanced" concerts — one of Ewers' ideas to attract a larger audience, and it has some merit. For it to be successful, though, careful thought needs to be given as to what works can be embellished and how.

In September, the symphony under Lockhart played Stavinsky's 1945 suite from "The Firebird," which was imaginatively choreographed by Attila Ficzere, who utilized the limited danceable stage area in Abravanel Hall creatively. I found it to be an entertaining presentation of the work, one in which ballet was successfully incorporated within a symphonic setting.

Of course, having it choreographed wasn't necessary for an appreciation of the music. Lockhart has said in the past that US&O needs to keep in mind what the symphony's primary purpose is, and he realizes the importance of keeping the orchestra's musicians in the forefront. I certainly hope that isn't lost in the frenzy to offer concertgoers visual stimulation. And I, for one, would also appreciate the chance to hear works such as the "Firebird" Suite in a purely symphonic setting.