A solitary horn announces the beginning of Brahms' Second Piano Concerto with a haunting, mysterious call. The piano answers in a gentle preview of melodic themes yet to come. The subtle interchange continues until the piano takes over with an eloquent torrent of arpeggios and chords.
The secret of the whole concerto lies within those moments, said pianist Louis Lortie, who will perform it with the Utah Symphony this weekend.
"It's one of the largest openings to a concerto ever written," Lortie said, "and with the beautiful horn theme, and the way the piano embellishes it, there are so many possibilities."
For the Utah Symphony, this weekend is all about important beginnings and fresh possibilities. The Abravanel Hall concerts on Saturday and Sunday open a new season for the orchestra, and with new artistic director Thierry Fischer in place at last, it promises to be an exciting one.
Fischer won't be on the podium this weekend, however. His first concerts here this season are Sept. 24 and 25, with Hilary Hahn as violin soloist.
The conductor for this week's concerts is the Finnish dynamo Hannu Lintu, 42, who had an excellent first outing with the Utah Symphony in 2008 and is attracting notice around the globe.
After a recent performance with the Baltimore Symphony, the Baltimore Sun's Tim Smith raved: "What made this performance such a memorable experience was the way Lintu had the music sounding so fresh, so bold and bracing. He drew from the BSO a startling current of energy and expressive involvement from the get-go, a communicative bond that remained sturdy all evening."
Lintu conducts the Tampere Philharmonic in Finland and will take the reins as principal conductor of Ireland's RTÃ National Symphony Orchestra this month. Besides stunning musicianship, he's known for his youthful, charismatic persona.
"Hannu Lintu is a guest conductor who is very thrilling and exciting to watch," said Crystal Young-Otterstrom, audience-development director for the Utah Symphony. "He has this crazy hair — kind of a faux-hawk going on — and he's very happening. He will be a thrill to watch, especially with the Utah Symphony and Louis Lortie playing the Brahms concerto."
Lortie will perform the huge Romantic concerto on a Fazioli concert grand from Baldassin Pianos in Salt Lake City. "It's so powerful," Lortie said of the Fazioli. "You don't have to force anything. The orchestra plays its heart out, and with some instruments, it's difficult not to be covered all the time. It's very nice to know you have an instrument that pierces through and has a beautiful range with consistency in all the registers."
The piano Lortie will use is 14 inches longer than a normal concert grand, said Rick Baldassin. "The extra length gives the bass a deeper dimension and gives the piano the ability to make more sound."
Creating depth in the bass notes isn't as challenging for a piano-maker as making the instrument's treble notes hold their own against powerful bass tones, Baldassin said. The treble strings of Fazioli pianos sing longer and draw extra resonance from isolated segments of the strings that are tuned to vibrate in sympathy with the main string.
Whatever the technical magic, Lortie likes the result. And he likes returning to Abravanel Hall, where he is a frequent and popular guest artist. "I love this special relationship with the Utah Symphony and the fact that I'm going quite often to play with them," he said. "I like continuity."
On an occasion fraught with hopes for auspicious beginnings, a little continuity can't hurt.
features@sltrib.com —
And the symphony plays on
P The Utah Symphony opens its 2010-11 season with concerts featuring Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu and Canadian pianist Louis Lortie. On the program are Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 ("Pastorale") and Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2.
When • Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10 and 11, at 8 p.m.
Where • Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City
Info • Tickets are $20 to $85 at 801-355-ARTS or www.arttix.org. Subscribers and group or student discounts, 801-533-NOTE. Ticket prices increase $5 on the day of the performance. —
Meet Anthony Tobias Tolokan
You nay never see Anthony Tobias "Toby" Tolokan, but he influences a good deal of what you hear at the Utah Symphony. ⺠D4
