Fischer delivers impressive debut with Utah Symphony

UTAH SYMPHONY, conductor Thierry Fischer, violinist Baiba Skride, Abravanel Hall, Jan. 29, additional performance Jan. 30 (801-355-2787)

Thierry Fischer, a familiar face to Utah Symphony audiences for his past appearances here, made his official debut Friday as the orchestra's new music director.

And symphony management welcomed him in a big way, with Gov. Gary Herbert speaking a few words prior to introducing him at the start of the concert.

Besides the governor and his wife at Friday's concert, there were also members of the Utah Legislature and the Swiss consul and honorary consul in Abravanel Hall.

In Fischer's two previous engagements here, the 52-year-old Swiss conductor made a huge impression on the public and the musicians of the orchestra, and that was once again repeated Friday, as the players applauded him at the end of the program while the audience gave him a well deserved standing ovation.

Fischer began the evening with Dmitri Shostakovich's splashy "Festive Overture," Op. 96. Fischer attacked the piece with gusto and captured the bright, sunny character of the piece, although the balance among the sections was off and the brass players dominated and overpowered everyone else when they played.

A very different Shostakovich was also on the program, in the guise of the Symphony No. 10 in E minor.

As with so many of his works, the Tenth is dark and somber and compellingly emotional and intense. Fischer brought that out with his sensitive reading, eliciting a rich, full-bodied sound from the orchestra, especially from the strings, who brought warmth and feeling to their playing.

Fischer probed the depths of the work and captured its essence — his reading underscored the darkness and anguish of the opening movement and the demonic power of the following allegro. His account of the third was eerily sinister, while the finale was filled with passion and vitality.

Baiba Skride was this weekend's soloist, playing Johannes Brahms' Violin Concerto. The Latvian violinist gave the concerto a wonderfully musical treatment that was very sensitive to the subtleties in the score. And Fischer matched her playing with his accompaniment. He had the same approach and coaxed a gorgeously rounded sound out of the orchestra.

This was a rather reflective reading of the concerto, one that eschewed bravura for a more intimate and lyrical interpretation.