Summer festival ends with a bang

UTAH SYMPHONY, EUGENE UGORSKI, KEITH LOCKHART, Deer Valley Amphitheater, Saturday.

DEER VALLEY — The cannons fired on cue, adding their booming voices to Tchaikovsky's "1812" Overture and signaling the end of the inaugural season of Utah Symphony and Opera's Deer Valley Music Festival.

The festival is new, but the music at Saturday's closing concert was tradition-bound.

The summer season wouldn't be the same without Tchaikovsky's perennial favorite, at least in the minds of the those gathered in Deer Valley to hear the Utah Symphony play the familiar strains of the overture — and under music director Keith Lockhart's baton, the Utah Symphony played it flamboyantly.

With one exception, Saturday's program was an all-Tchaikovsky affair. Lockhart opened with the Polonaise from the opera "Eugene Onegin." The performance was grandiose, with Lockhart and the orchestra capturing the flashy spectacle of the music perfectly.

The only non-Tchaikovsky work Saturday was the suite from Rimsky-Korsakoff's opera "Le Coq d'or" — and the suite is a wonderful showcase for the orchestra.

The Utah Symphony played the colorful score glowingly. Their performance was articulate, precise and well-executed. Even the trumpets and French horns, which haven't always played up to par during the summer, came through and delivered a strong performance. Particularly notable was associate principal clarinet Russell Harlow's beautifully played solo in the opening movement. Principal flute Erich Graf's playing was also noteworthy. And Lockhart's interpretation captured the exotic atmosphere of Rimsky-Korsakoff's music wonderfully.

The only other work at the concert was Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. This warhorse was played by 14-year-old prodigy Eugene Ugorski. Saturday's concert was the second time that Ugorski and Lockhart teamed up to play the work. The young Russian-born violinist opened the Boston Pops season in Symphony Hall in May with the same work. And it was Lockhart who invited Ugorski to join him and the Utah Symphony at Deer Valley.

Despite his young age, Ugorski plays like an old master. He's only been playing the concerto for 18 months, but he has an uncanny insight into the work that normally comes only after years of performing.

As fabulously as Ugorski played, his performance nevertheless wasn't flawless. He seemed unsure of himself and didn't approach the first movement with the confidence necessary to make it convincing. It wasn't until well into the second movement that the young violinist finally took command, and by the finale, he showed that he can certainly be someone to reckon with in the crowded world of concert violinists.

That the majority of the audience was more at home with pops concerts than classical was evident by their applause. Every time Ugorski finished a section, the audience applauded. Lockhart turned to the crowd several times and held his finger to his lips to shush them, but it didn't help. And when the first movement ended, many in the audience jumped to their feet, thinking the work was over. Without missing a beat, Lockhart grabbed the microphone by the podium and announced with a sly smile that, "as an encore, Eugene would like to play the second and third movements of the concerto."

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