Conductor, soloist highlight 'Four Seasons' performance

UTAH SYMPHONY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, "The Four Seasons," Abravanel Hall, Jan. 15

The few times Utah Symphony assistant conductor David Cho has taken to the podium to lead the orchestra in classical programs, he has shown fine talent and potential to make a name for himself.

Thursday, Cho once again exhibited his conducting skills when he led members of the Utah Symphony in Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons."

As he did last season when he conducted J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, Cho proved once again that he can handle baroque music more than adequately. The fast movements were vibrant and animated and infused with a fine sense of rhythm, and the slow movements were tender and filled with poignancy and feeling.

Cho certainly has a wonderful grasp of the nuances in these works, and he brought that to his readings. They were nicely crafted, well-phrased and articulate. And the musicians responded to his direction and gave him what he wanted. It was a marvelous collaboration between conductor and ensemble.

Soloist for the Vivaldi was symphony concertmaster Ralph Matson. A fabulous musician as he has shown time and again, Matson gave a stellar performance.

This was Matson's second outing as soloist this season. Last November he undertook a rare performance of Britten's Violin Concerto, and for Thursday's concert he switched gears completely, playing Vivaldi's perennial favorite with complete mastery.

Matson is a consummate artist. Everything comes together in his playing: wonderful expressiveness, virtuosity and impeccable musicality. All this came to the fore Thursday as he brought "The Four Seasons" to life. His playing was beautifully phrased, and there was a wonderful interplay between him and the orchestra.

The performance was marked with crisp, clean playing by Matson and the ensemble. Everything was nicely executed, the playing was dynamic, and the result was that this was one of the more captivating and alluring readings of "The Four Seasons" heard here in quite some time.

With a work as popular as Vivaldi's is, one needs something special to justify programming it, and Matson, Cho and the orchestra gave the audience just that. It was eloquent, polished and delightfully musical. In short, it was a charming treat.

E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com