Hilary Hahn plays Dvorak's Violin Concerto

Now that the holidays are over (I will resume my winter break movie commentaries tomorrow) I went back to my usual Friday night ritual!  I found myself at Abravanel Hall for a thrilling Utah Symphony concert featuring the music of Haydn and Dvorak.  Despite what it said in the program, the orchestra began with the exciting and energetic Slavonic Dance No. 8 with an equally energetic Thierry Fischer on the podium!  After this piece, Fischer addressed the audience telling us that a new year should be filled with contrasts and surprises and so the orchestra would alternate between the movements of Haydn's Symphony No. 8 and Dvorak's Slavonic Dances (six of them).  This made for a very lively evening as I eagerly anticipated what I would hear next because I kind of lost track of which was which and just enjoyed the music without overthinking it.  The two pieces worked surprisingly well together and I loved Fischer's enthusiasm!  My favorite was the second movement of the Haydn because it is romantic and contemplative with just a hint of melancholy and the orchestra played it with a lot of expression.  After the intermission the orchestra returned to play Dvorak's Violin Concerto with Hilary Hahn, a frequent guest of the Utah Symphony, as the soloist.  It is easy to see why Abravanel Hall was packed almost to capacity because Hahn is such a dynamic and brilliant performer.  I loved watching her fingers fly across her violin and I definitely enjoyed her performance.  So did the rest of the crowd who jumped to their feat in a thunderous ovation!  She was brought back to the stage numerous times and even favored us with a beautiful encore.  It was a spectacular evening and I recommend getting a ticket for tonight's performance of the same program (go here).

Note:  I almost always get a ticket to the first Utah Symphony concert of the year because it is usually so hard to go back to school after the holidays and I need something to look forward to in order to make it through!    However, I had a great week with my students so this concert was the cherry on top!