Symphony shines, but pianist bores

UTAH SYMPHONY, PETER SERKIN, Abravanel Hall, Friday. Second performance, 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets through ArtTix (355-2787).

This weekend's Utah Symphony concerts, under the baton of music director Keith Lockhart, feature three centuries of Austrian music. Opening with Mozart's delightful Symphony No. 31, K. 318, the program also includes Brahms' Second Piano Concerto and Schoenberg's "Transfigured Night."

With three undisputed masters of orchestral writing, the program was certainly a tempting treat for the audience. Especially so, since this weekend was also Peter Serkin's local debut.

After a more than 40 year career playing in halls around the world, Serkin has finally found his way to Salt Lake City. Serkin debuted in one of Brahms' most engaging orchestral works. Mellifluous and deceptively straightforward, the Second Concerto offers both the soloist and the orchestra the opportunity to shine. At Friday's concert, the Utah Symphony certainly gave an exceptional performance, while Serkin's was decidedly less so.

From the start, Serkin rode roughshod over the music. His playing was untamed and lacked any gracefulness. Lockhart, on the other hand, and much to his credit, tried to keep his interpretation faithful to the score. The orchestra's performance was nuanced and subtle, while Serkin's was contorted by exaggerated gestures and unnecessarily harsh and crude attacks. Obviously trying to be dynamic, Serkin's playing ended up being monotonous and boring.

Nor was the Mozart symphony, which opened the concert, noteworthy. Surprisingly so, since Lockhart normally coaxes a refined and elegant performance out of the orchestra for Mozart. Had there been a leaner string section, the performance would certainly have been on a higher artistic level. As it turned out, the articulation was indistinct and the execution vague and undefined.

Schoenberg's "Transfigured Night" was the one bright spot Friday. The strings gave a luminous performance, and Lockhart's interpretation captured the intensity of expressions and emotions and the lush lyricism to the fullest.

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E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com