Conrad Tao fills in for ailing Gutierrez

UTAH SYMPHONY, WITH PIANIST CONRAD TAO, Oct. 8, Abravanel Hall; second performance 8 p.m. Oct. 9, tickets at 801-355-2787

This weekend was supposed to have been Horacio Gutierrez's return to the Utah Symphony. But the veteran pianist had to cancel his engagement due to medical reasons. (Gutierrez is a cancer survivor who made a triumphant return to the concert stage a few years ago with a number of orchestras, including the Utah Symphony.)

In his place this weekend the orchestra brought in the young Illinois native Conrad Tao playing Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," the originally scheduled work.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding the 16-year-old pianist. And as he showed Friday evening, his playing is technically assured, and his digital dexterity made his part look easy.

Typical for most young soloists, whether they're pianists or violinists, is that they possess amazing technique with which they dazzle their audiences.

What they frequently lack is musicality. Their performances tend to be dry, lifeless and impersonal.

That was the case with Tao. His playing much of the time was mechanical, and that affected how the orchestra, which was under the baton of guest conductor Mario Venzago, played as well. Tempos leaned toward the brisk side and it seemed as if it was a matter of getting through the piece as quickly as possible.

However, the performance's saving grace was the beautifully executed slow 18th variation. Here Tao's playing, and that of the orchestra, made up for the rest of the work. Tao's interpretation of this variation was eloquent and graceful, and he showed at least that he does indeed have an expressive side. It would be nice to hear hat side of him more fully.

Tao also offered an encore, a movement from Igor Stravinsky's piano arrangement of his ballet "Pétrouchka."

The concert opened with two short works by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius: the atmospheric "Lemmink?nen and the Maidens of the Island," from the "Four Legends for the Kalevala," op. 22, No. 1, and the pompous "Finlandia."

There was some gorgeous string playing to be heard in the "Lemmink?nen." Venzago captured the lyricism of the piece wonderfully. He brought expression and feeling to the orchestra; they played fluidly and with finely crafted phrases