Concert Reviews

SUNDAYS@7, Hasse Borup, violin, Heather Conner, piano, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Sept. 30 History was made Sunday in Libby Gardner Concert Hall when violinist Hasse Borup and pianist Heather Conner gave the world premiere of a lost violin sonata by the American composer Vincent Persichetti. It was Borup who uncovered the unpublished work while researching …

BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL PARK CITY, Park City Community Church, Aug. 2; through Aug. 20, tickets at www.pcmusicfestival.com Composers have generally neglected the viola as a solo instrument. Why that’s the case is a mystery, since the instrument combines the best of the violin and cello. Not as heavy as the latter nor as strident as the …

BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL PARK CITY, Park City Community Church, July 26; festival continues through Aug. 20, tickets at www.pcmusicfestival.com Carl Frühling was an Austrian composer of a number of exceptional chamber works. Johannes Brahms liked his music and championed him, but Frühling’s inability or disinterest in adapting to changing musical tastes in the early years of …

BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL PARK CITY, “The Revolutionaries,” Park City Community Church, July 19; through Aug. 20, tickets at www.pcmusicfestival.com Ludwig van Beethoven’s string quartets are at the core of his chamber music output and staples in the repertoire. This season, the Beethoven Festival Park City (formerly known as the Park City Music Festival) begins a multi-year …

DEER VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL, Utah Symphony Chamber Orchestra, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, July 18 In an age where young violinists make a big splash and then quickly disappear, Sean Lee looks as though he might be here to stay. He has a promising career ahead of him as both a concert artist and chamber musician, …

HILARY DEMSKE, PIANO, Madsen Recital Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, March 2 This recital was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in my life. I knew that I was going to see a piano recital by the young Utah Valley University professor Hilary Demske. I knew the recital began at …

FAURÉ PIANO QUARTET, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, University of Utah, Feb. 22 The Fauré Piano Quartet made its first appearance at a Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake City concert Wednesday – and hopefully this won’t be its last. Playing an ambitious program the group exhibited technical mastery of their respective instruments, impeccable musicality and …

AUTUMN CLASSICS MUSIC FESTIVAL, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, University of Utah, Oct. 9 Chamber music didn’t figure prominently in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s creative output, but he did write one work that is without question his best and also one of the finest string pieces of the late 19th century: the string sextet Souvenir de Florence, …

AUTUMN CLASSICS MUSIC FESTIVAL, Park City Community Church, Oct. 1; remaining concerts Oct. 2 and Oct. 7-9; www.pcmusicfestival.com The Autumn Classics Music Festival opened Saturday in Park City in characteristic fashion – first rate performances of some of the greatest chamber works written. An offshoot of the Park City Music Festival, Autumn Classics is now …

PARK CITY MUSIC FESTIVAL, Park City Community Church, July 28 Johannes Brahms wrote some of the most memorable chamber music of the 19th century so it’s no wonder that it appears frequently on the programs of chamber music series. And it’s always a treat to hear it – especially if it’s played as perceptively and …