Mozart piano concertos in spotlight

During its three-month festival commemorating Mozart's 250th birthday, the University of Utah's school of music has explored nearly every facet of the composer's output, from chamber to choral and vocal music.

The series' next concert will focus on Mozart's piano concertos, today at 7:30 p.m. in Libby Gardner Concert Hall.

"This is going to be a wonderful concert," said Robert Baldwin, director of orchestras at the U. "How can you say that three of Mozart's concertos are his best, since all are wonderful. But these three are among his most important concertos."

Robert Walzel, head of the school of music, agrees. "When you think of Mozart's piano concertos, you think of them as masterpieces. He invested so much in them, since he wrote these for himself to play."

The works on today's program stem from Mozart's great burst of creative energy that occurred in the last seven or eight years of his life. No. 17 in G major, K. 453, No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, and No. 23 in A major, K. 488, are from the same period that saw his final three symphonies as well as his operatic masterpieces "The Marriage of Figaro," "Don Giovanni," "La Clemenza di Tito" and "The Magic Flute."

"These three concertos epitomize Mozart's music," Baldwin said. "They are crossover pieces, because you find everything in them. They're operatic, and they're chamber music with symphonic episodes. You find all that within one genre.

"Mozart's concertos are never formulaic. And a work such as the D minor, which is very dramatic, bridges the gap between classicism and romanticism. It's amazing."

Three soloists will play at today's concert, all of whom are members of the school of music faculty — Vedrana Subotic (playing No. 17), Ning Lu (No. 20) and Heather Conner (No. 23). "Each of these concertos is well suited to their personalities," Baldwin said. "Ning is the darker personality, and the D minor suits him well. Heather plays with flair and Vedrana's playing is elegant."

"We're going to hear three very different approaches to these concertos," Walzel said. "They're all young faculty members, and they bring hunger and passion to the music. This will be the first time they're playing these. It will be an interesting concert, and one I'm looking forward to."

The orchestra accompanying the soloists won't strictly be a student ensemble. There will be some students playing in the orchestra, but they'll be joined by faculty members and alumni. "We'll have some of our top students playing," Baldwin said, "but the orchestra will also have some of our alum."

Among the alumni will be Elizabeth Palmer, concertmaster for the Salt Lake Symphony, and oboist Susan Swidnicki, a frequent Utah Symphony substitute player. "It'll be a good chance to see our legacy at the U.," Baldwin said.

"It's definitely a hybrid group," said Walzel.

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If you go . . .

What: University of Utah Mozart Festival

Where: Libby Gardner Concert Hall, University of Utah

When: Today, 7:30 p.m.

How much: $3-$7

Phone: 581-6762

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E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com