Nothing draws music fans to Abravanel Hall quite like Sergei Rachmaninoff. Canadian pianist Jon Kimura Parker delivered this musical manna Friday night, joining the Utah Symphony and guest conductor Mark Wigglesworth to dazzle the enthusiastic full house with the composer’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.”
Parker held the crowd at rapt attention, from the lightning crash that opens the concerto until its sparkling conclusion. The famed 18th Variation, which has amped up the romance in films as diverse as “Somewhere in Time” and “Groundhog Day,” was particularly well-received. As an encore, the pianist gave a brilliant rendition of “Blues Etude” by fellow Canadian Oscar Peterson — explaining that Peterson, like Rachmaninoff, was inspired by American jazz virtuoso Art Tatum.