Fischer's 1st night on the job a triumph
Review » New music director energizes orchestra, crowd.

By Catherine Reese Newton

Yes, the new guy is all that.

In the shortest, and arguably most exciting, debut season in the Utah Symphony's 70-year history (he took the job after the current season, in which he was scheduled for only one weekend, started), new music director Thierry Fischer lived up to his marketing slogan, "Musique d'energie." The energy in Abravanel Hall on Friday night was virtually palpable. Sometimes it pulled you out of your seat; sometimes it pushed you back in. Sometimes it filled the entire hall with light, as in the electrifying opener, Shostakovich's "Festive" Overture. Sometimes it filled the space with oppressive gloom, as in the astonishingly vivid first movement of Shostakovich's 10th Symphony. But rarely did it loosen its grip.

Each section of the orchestra distinguished itself in Friday's performance. Of particular note were Tad Calcara's emotionally gripping clarinet solos and James Wilson's Mahlerian horn calls in the Shostakovich symphony; concertmaster Ralph Matson's brief solo turn in the third movement added just the right sardonic touch. As a unit, the orchestra gave one of its most emotionally authentic performances in quite a while.

Young Latvian violinist Baiba Skride was the evening's soloist in the Brahms Violin Concerto. Skride's playing was wonderfully musical, with impossibly sweet high notes offset by an occasional tartness that was intriguing. Unexpected excitement came in the form of an equipment malfunction in the finale; Skride and Fischer scarcely missed a beat as she swapped violins with Matson.

This weekend's appearances are Fischer's third with the orchestra, but his first since being named its seventh music director in September. He'll be here for five concert weekends in the 2010-11 season and will conduct a minimum of 12 classical Masterworks programs in each subsequent season of his four-year contract, which he has the option to renew for an additional three.

Friday's audience included Swiss diplomats, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and a sizable contingent from the Utah Legislature. Let's hope the lawmakers heed the governor's preconcert exhortation to preserve this vital part of Utah's cultural heritage.