Symphony has high, low points

DEER VALLEY — This year's Friday night classical-music series, a staple of the Utah Symphony's Deer Valley Music Festival, got off to a somewhat inauspicious start in terms of attendance.

The late-afternoon rainstorms in the valley, and the dark, threatening sky over Park City, apparently were enough to discourage a sizable number of people from attending the outdoor concert at the Deer Valley Amphitheater. Normally, you can't see the grass for all the people in the lawn-seating area. But Friday, the opposite was true. There were also numerous empty chairs in the reserved section.

However, as it turned out, the weather held, and those who did brave the intimidating cloud cover witnessed an evening of music that had some memorable moments as well as several low points.

The highlight of the evening was Anne Akiko Meyers' performance of Max Bruch's G minor Violin Concerto. One of the staples in the romantic-concerto literature, the G minor is a fabulous piece. It's not as grand as the Brahms concerto, nor as grandiose as the Tchaikovsky, but it nevertheless is a substantial work with much beauty and technical finesse, in addition to being filled with romantic sensibilities and passion — enough to ensure that Bruch's name lives on in the 21st century.

Meyers is a wonderful violinist of remarkable artistry. Her sound technical assuredness combined with her eloquent musicality make her one of the finest violinists today. That the Bruch concerto is dear to her was evident in the intensity of emotions and luminous expressiveness she put into her interpretation. She captured the vitality and energy of the outer movements with her passionate playing, while bringing out the intimacy of the slow movement with her sensitive and thoughtful reading.

Music director Keith Lockhart conducted Friday's concert, and in the Bruch, he was Meyers' perfect musical partner. He enticed an articulate and lucid performance out of the Utah Symphony that mirrored Meyers' radiant playing.

Another delight Friday was the opening piece, Aaron Copland's robust and vigorous "An Outdoor Overture." Lockhart captured the straightforward lines of the work with a simplicity of means that was notable. The orchestra played with precise articulation and crisp execution, and with an underlying enthusiasm that was infectious and welcome.