Chamber, violinist to perform Mozart

Compared to the monumental concertos of the 19th century, Mozart's five violin concertos pale in comparison. Tame in the technical demands they place on the soloist, these works don't live up to the expectations of today's audiences.

Yet, ask any violinist and he'll tell you that Mozart's concertos offer their own specific set of problems. "They don't have the technical flash that romantic concertos have, but violinists find them tricky," said Dara Morales, the Utah Symphony's principal second violin. "It needs to sound easy, but that defeats the purpose of a concerto. The trick is to make it seem easy without sounding like it is."

Morales will be the soloist Wednesday in Mozart's tantalizing, delicate Third Concerto in G major, K. 216. The first Utah Symphony Chamber Orchestra concert of this year's Deer Valley Music Festival will be under the baton of music director Keith Lockhart.

Performing the first chamber-orchestra concert is a special honor, Morales said. "I'm extremely excited about it. This is the beginning of the Deer Valley festival, so it's going to be a lot of fun."

This will be Morales' first solo outing with the Utah Symphony since joining the organization in March 2004. But this won't be the first time she's played the G major Concerto. It's been in her repertoire since she was 13, and over the years she's performed it with several orchestras.

Of the five violin concertos Mozart wrote, Morales prefers the Third. "It's not heavy like the Fourth or Fifth," she said. "It's more charming and has a lot of humor in it. It's perfect for a summer concert." So when Lockhart asked her to play a Mozart concerto for this concert, the choice was obvious.

Before joining the Utah Symphony, Morales was principal second violin with the Puerto Rico Symphony. She went there because of her husband, Jesus Morales. "My husband, who was my fiance at the time, won a job (as principal cello) with the symphony." And luckily for Morales, there was also an opening for an assistant concertmaster. But that was only temporary.

Then another position became available. "That was for principal second (violin), and it was permanent. And I won that."

Morales and her husband spent 5 1/2 years in Puerto Rico. During that time she also taught at the conservatory, which was founded by legendary cellist Pablo Casals, who had made the island his home.