Utah Symphony Assistant Conductor Jessica Rivero Altarriba led a recent concert at Abravanel Hall.
In Saturday’s (12/14) Utah Arts Review, Edward Reichel writes, “The Utah Symphony has two large works on the program this week celebrating the seasons: Glazunov’s 1899 ballet score and Vivaldi’s endearing set of four violin concertos…. The Utah Symphony’s recently appointed assistant conductor, Jessica Rivero Altarriba, gave a fine account Friday night at Abravanel Hall…. The concert opened with the Utah Symphony premiere of Angel Lam’s ‘Please let there be a paradise…’. [‘Please let there be a paradise…’ was commissioned by the League of American Orchestras with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.] The nine-minute piece starts out magically with creative writing for the percussion, which also includes a number of crystal singing bowls. Starting out with a simple theme, which is continually repeated, it gradually incorporates the full orchestra with a well-crafted crescendo. The work then evolves into a tonal essay with rich harmonies and luxuriant string writing before finally ending quietly with the percussion giving hints of the opening motive. Altarriba gave a well-conceived reading of the piece that captured the contemplative atmosphere of the opening and the more romantic urgency in the main body of the score.” The program also featured Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, with Concertmaster Madeline Adkins soloing as well as leading.
