Conductor makes great first impression

DEER VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL, UTAH SYMPHONY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, CONDUCTOR DAVID LOCKINGTON, St. Mary's Church, Park City, July 29 (801-355-2787)

DEER VALLEY — Conductor David Lockington made his Utah Symphony debut Wednesday at the Deer Valley Music Festival in the first of three concerts he will be directing this week.

Starting with a concert in St. Mary's Church featuring the Utah Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Lockington exhibited his versatility in a stylistically wide-ranging program that opened with Handel and Mozart and finished with Schumann's Symphony No. 4 in D minor.

The music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony for the past 10 years, Lockington made a favorable first impression on his audience while eliciting a wonderfully polished and refined performance from the orchestra.

The musicians played exceptionally well under his baton and, in fact, this was one of the better performances at these summer chamber-orchestra concerts.

The concert opened with the orchestra's string section in Handel's Concerto Grosso in B minor, Op. 6, No. 12.

Lockington displayed a good grasp of the work; his sensitive direction captured the nuances of the score. The performance was vibrant and alive, and the strings played with crisp articulation and fluid lyricism.

Concertmaster Ralph Matson and acting principal second violin Wen Yuan Gu played their solo passages with flair.

Paired with this piece in the first half was Mozart's Symphony No. 31 in D major, K. 297, "Paris."

One of the most exuberant symphonies Mozart wrote, the "Paris" exudes a carefree spirit, youthful vitality and bright optimism, all of which Lockington captured vividly.

The outer movements of this three-movement work were taken at a brisk tempo to good effect, underscoring the relentless drive present in these two movements.

In the andante, Lockington allowed the music to flow naturally at a good clip that kept it from bogging down and at the same time brought out this movement's subtleties.

The orchestra played the symphony wonderfully. Once again, the musicians brought clean lines and crisp articulation to their playing. It was quite an effusive reading that brought the ebullience of the work to the fore.

The concert concluded with Schumann's Fourth Symphony. This was a radiant account of the work, with Lockington bringing out its romantic spirit compellingly.

It was a forceful reading of this symphony that was very fluid and cohesive. The stormy passion of the outer movements were dynamic, as was the scherzo.

The second-movement romance, on the other hand, was delivered with graceful lyricism. Lockington's interpretation was perceptive and sensitive; he had a wonderful grasp of the work, and that came through convincingly.

e-mail: ereichel@desnews.com