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Like a lot of violinists, Stefan Jackiw has a long history with the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.

"I learned it kind of when most violin students learn it, in my early teens," said Jackiw, who made his European debut with the concerto at age 14. "I've played it at many points and I never tire of it. That's the thing about great pieces. There's an endless amount of things to learn." Factor in differences among the orchestras and conductors with whom a soloist collaborates, and "there are endless variations on it."

Jackiw, now 30, will play the Mendelssohn Concerto with the Utah Symphony and guest conductor Jun Märkl on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5 and 6.

He's performed with Märkl once before, playing the Korngold Violin Concerto with the Nashville Symphony. "It's a wonderful piece, but if it's not in the right hands, it can be overblown and soupy," Jackiw said. "He clarified and organized the piece so that what needed to come to the fore did."

No such worries with the Mendelssohn, which Jackiw admires for its tight construction — from phrase to phrase as well as from movement to movement. "I like the way each small phrase is connected in a seamless line and the ball keeps rolling," he said.

"Like a lot of Mendelssohn's music, a lot of it, especially in the third movement, is playful and light and bubbly. On the flip side, there's an incredible sense of searching, urgency, recklessness and drama. … The tension between darkness and light is something I find really special and audiences respond to."

Jackiw started playing the violin at age 4 and knew by his midteens he wanted to pursue a musical career. He entered Harvard University as a psychology major because "college was my last chance to be in an environment that wasn't totally focused on music," though he did earn an artist diploma from the New England Conservatory concurrently with his bachelor's from Harvard. His interests outside music include running, watching movies, cooking and reading; he said he's currently reading J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace" after re-reading a favorite, Haruki Murakami's "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle."

He also enjoys giving master classes whenever he can, believing the interaction with aspiring violinists makes him "a more thoughtful musician because I have to practice what I preach." The public is welcome to observe his master class at Abravanel Hall on Thursday afternoon.

The other works on the concerts Friday and Saturday are Weber's Overture to "Der Freischütz," Stravinsky's "Petrouchka" and the "Ritual Fire Dance" from Manuel de Falla's "El amor brujo." —

Mendelssohn and more

The Utah Symphony will perform music of Mendelssohn, Stravinsky, Weber and Falla.

With • Conductor Jun Märkl and violinist Stefan Jackiw

When • Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5-6, 7:30 p.m.

Where • Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City

Tickets • $18-$80; utahsymphony.org

Open rehearsal • The public is invited to attend Friday's 10 a.m. dress rehearsal; tickets are $16.

Also • Jackiw will conduct a master class in Abravanel Hall on Thursday, Feb. 4, from 4 to 6 p.m.; it's free to observe.