Utah Arts Review – Fiery Rachmaninoff and de Falla ballet pair perfectly with the Utah Symphony

by Edward Reichel

Sergei Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos always guarantee a pretty full house whenever the Utah Symphony programs them. Two weeks ago Lukáš Vondráček gave a dynamic performance of the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini under the baton of Aziz Shokhakimov. This weekend it’s Boris Giltburg’s turn to dazzle the audience with the Third Piano Concerto and Carlos Miguel Prieto on the podium.

And the young Russian-born Israeli pianist certainly did impress Friday night at Abravanel Hall with an impassioned account ranging from fiery virtuosity in the outer movements to delicate lyricism in the middle movement Intermezzo.

Considered by many to be one of the most difficult concertos, this work puts soloists to a test that Giltburg aced in front of a large and appreciative audience. He drew a huge sound from the Fazioli piano that encapsulated the work’s dynamic virtuosity, but within a clean and impeccable articulation.

Read on at utahartsreview.com