This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
"Music Among Friends" is the title of one concert, but that idea also describes the entire Park City Chamber Music Festival, says co-director Leslie Harlow.
Harlow, a violist, began the festival in 1984 (under a different name) by bringing friends from her days at New York's Juilliard School of Music to Park City for a series of intimate concerts playing with Utah musicians. Ensuing years proved what a fine group had been assembled, as all of the players went on to important careers.
Violinists Glenn Dicterow, William Preucil, Paul Rosenthal and Manuel Ramos, violist Paul Neubauer, cellist Jeffrey Solow, pianist Michael Gurt and Harlow formed the core of that first group. And several of the original musicians will be back for this year's festival.
Harlow married Utah Symphony clarinetist Russell Harlow after starting the festival, and he became a regular performer and co-director. The Harlows traveled to other festivals around the nation to play with their musical friends, gaining more friends and colleagues along the way. A talented musical family was formed.
"I was looking at pictures of past festivals the other day, and all the people are smiling," Leslie Harlow said. "These are the players — we're smiling at each other all the time. We're serious about the music, but we are all friends and always have been. That's something really important about this festival."
A recent addition to the list of regulars is Monte Belknap, a violinist and violist on the music faculty of Brigham Young University. This year, he will be joined by his BYU colleague Alexander Woods. "We feel very lucky that BYU has done all this wonderful recruiting that helps us out so much," Harlow said.
Old friends returning include Mark Kosower, recently appointed principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra; Gurt, a former winner of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition; and Solow, a renowned cello soloist, recording artist and pedagogue.
Board members and longtime audience members have gotten into the festival's family spirit, housing artists and sponsoring salon concerts in their homes — even supplying dinners to hungry musicians in the midst of long rehearsals.
Salon hosts seem to enjoy the conviviality of having concerts in their homes, as finding volunteers is easy. "We actually have a waiting list of homes people have offered," Harlow said. "When we put the word out, we always get takers."
According to Harlow, the salons are warm social affairs that include virtuoso solo performances, chamber music, talk and a lot of good food.
Jan Zinn is a returning salon host whose lakeside home is a favorite place for festival artists to stay. She loves having friends in her home for evenings of music and food. "At my house, I call it having supper, because I'm Southern," she said.
Besides hearing wonderful music in her home, Zinn values the chance for conversations with the musicians. "All of them have the most wonderful tales to tell," she said. "They tell stories about the music — how it was composed and why. Russell [Harlow] has a great gift for that, so we learn a lot. They are teaching us about chamber music and how to appreciate it more."
The heart of the series, though, is in the Thursday night concerts at Park City Community Church and Sunday afternoon concerts at Temple Har Shalom. Certain repertoire favorites, such as Mozart's beloved Clarinet Quintet, are well-known to all of the artists and are played regularly, while new pieces are added each year.
This year, festival artists will also give free Monday night performances at Miner's Park, in the center of Park City.
"Our idea is that we'll just go there and play, to introduce the festival," Leslie Harlow said. "We're bringing a grand piano, and we'll make it a real, full concert because that's how we like to play. We wouldn't want it to be any less."
facebook.com/tribremix —
Park City Music Festival
P The summer season of chamber music runs from July 11 to Aug. 1 at Park City venues including Temple Har Shalom, the Park City Community Church and Miners Park in central Park City. There also are two salon concerts in area homes and an ice-cream social with performances by festival artists.
Monday Chamber Music Under the Stars concerts
July 11 • Music of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven
July 18 • Music of Glazunov, Mozart, Hindemith, Dvorák and more
July 25 • Chamber Music Under the Stars, music of Beethoven, Dvorák, Moskowski and more
Aug.1 • Chamber Music Under the Stars, music of Mozart, Kodály, Bartók, Taneyev and Glazunov
Details • Concerts are at 6:30 p.m. at the City Park Bandstand, in the center of Park City. Admission is free.
Thursday Chamber Music Showcase concerts
July 14 • Music of Mozart and Peter Schickele; 7:30 p.m., Community Church.
July 21 • Music of Beethoven and Brahms; 7:30 p.m., Community Church.
July 28 • Music of Kodály and Brahms
Details • Concerts are at 7:30 p.m. at Park City Community Church, 4501 N. Highway 224; $20; $15 for seniors and students; available at the door.
Salon concerts
July 15 • Music Among Friends Salon Concert; 6:30 p.m.
July 23 • Ice Cream Social Salon Concert; 3 p.m.
July 30 • Chamber Music Party on the Lake, virtuoso solos and chamber favorites; 3 p.m.
Details • Concerts are in Park City area homes; $40 donation; call 435-649-5309 for reservations and location information.
Sunday Afternoon Chamber Music concerts
July 17 • Music of Brahms and Dvorák
July 24 • Music of Dvorák, Moskowski and Fauré
July 31 • Music of Reger, Beethoven and Elgar
Details • Concerts are at 3 p.m. at Temple Har Shalom, 3700 N. Brookside Court, Park City; $20; $15 for seniors and students; available at the door.
Info • For more information, visit http://www.pcmusicfestival.com, where you can also see the schedule for the Harlows' companion festival, the Autumn Classics Music Festival.