Musicians shine at Park City fest

PARK CITY INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL, Dumke Recital Hall, Saturday.

One of the hallmark features of the Park City International Music Festival is its innovative programming. Co-directors Leslie and Russell Harlow have made it a point of bringing their audiences works that are not often heard in the concert hall.

That's not to say the standard chamber repertoire is ignored. The festival's success and longevity (it's celebrating its 20th anniversary season this summer) are directly related to the considerable amount of thought that goes into planning programs.

Saturday's concert in Dumke Recital Hall featured two relatively seldom performed and recorded works (Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello and Martinu's Serenade for Two Clarinets and Strings). They were on the same program as one of the pillars of 19th century chamber music, the Brahms Piano Trio in C minor, op. 101.

The evening began with the Ravel, played by father and daughter duo Philippe Djokic, violin, and Denise Djokic, cello. Written between 1920-22, it is unlike much of Ravel's music. Except for the last movement, the work is austere and at times harsh.

Both musicians played it with an intensity that captured the uncompromising emotional drama that unfolds throughout its three movements. It was a performance that lacked nothing in terms of potency and expression. And the two artists' unity of intent and approach made this reading remarkably vivid and powerful.

Nothing could be more different from the austere tonal imagery of the Ravel than Martinu's delightful Serenade, which followed it.

The five musicians who played it (violist Leslie Harlow and clarinetists Russell Harlow and David Gould joined the Djokics) gave an engaging performance that captured the delicious flippancy of Martinu's music.

The concert concluded with the Brahms C minor Trio. For this performance, pianist Robert Moeling joined Philippe and Denise Djokic. The three artists gave a clearly drawn yet emotionally charged interpretation that was subtle in characterization yet forceful in expression. The work's sweeping gestures and bold lines, particularly in the opening movement, were captured by the threesome's passionate but eloquent delivery.

---

E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com