PARK CITY INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL, Aug. 4 in the Park City Community Church and Aug. 5 in St. Mary's Catholic Church, single performances.
The final week of this year's Park City International Music Festival brought back festival favorite Arturo Delmoni and saw the welcome return of the venerable husband-and-wife duo of Charles Libove, on the violin, and Nina Lugovoy, on the piano.
The high point of these last two concerts was the stunning performance of Dvorak's Piano Quintet in A major, op. 81, Monday evening. The five musicians (Delmoni and Libove, violin; Leslie Harlow, viola; Pegsoon Whang, cello; and John Jensen, piano) gave an electrifying performance that was full of vitality and energy.
They put their hearts and souls into their interpretation, turning it into a memorable and richly rewarding experience.
The result was chamber music of the highest order.
In the opening movement, the five artists captured the music's dramatic intensity and its rapidly changing moods perfectly.
Their playing was infused with feeling and romantic fervor.
The focal point of Dvorak's piano quintet is its second movement, with its almost violent mood swings.
The ensemble brought a feeling of infinite sadness to the opening section of this movement with its heartfelt playing.
And the disparate moods that the composer juxtaposes throughout were presented with sensitivity and subtlety.
After a short, furiously paced scherzo, the finale brings a lighter tone to the work.
The five musicians played the closing movement with spirit and verve, bringing out the relentless drive of the music with their impassioned and invigorating playing.
Also at Monday's concert, Delmoni — on viola this time — along with Lugovoy and clarinetist Russell Harlow, played four of the ""Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano"" by Max Bruch.
The short, vignette-like movements in this work are gems, and the three players — Harlow in particular — brought out the irresistible charm of the four excerpts they performed.
Harlow is an exceptional clarinetist, whose warm, rich tones were matched beautifully by Delmoni's viola playing.
Together, they made these pieces come alive and blossom.
Especially attractive in the Bruch is the ""Nachtgesang,"" with its dreamy tenderness and ethereal charm.
E-MAIL: ereichel@desnews.com