Utah Symphony’s 2014-15 Season opens on September 12, 2014 with Music Director Thierry Fischer leading works by Beethoven, Mahler, and Mosolov

Highlights of the 2014-15 season include:

The commencement of a two-season-long Mahler symphony cycle to honor
the legacy of former Utah Symphony Music Director, Maurice Abravanel

The world premiere of EOS, a new work by Augusta Read Thomas

The United States debut of conductor Kazuki Yamada, 
and the Utah Symphony debut of violinist Veronika Eberle

Pianist Yefim Bronfman for a performance of Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto

A performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with
soprano Celena Shafer and the Utah Symphony Chorus

The introduction of a new Chamber Music Series in Park City during the winter season

A performance of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto by André Watts

Former Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen and instrumental group Pink Martini will perform as part of the Utah Symphony Entertainment Series

SALT LAKE CITY, UT (February 4, 2014) – Utah Symphony Music Director Thierry Fischer and President & CEO Melia Tourangeau today announced the Utah Symphony’s 2014-15 season. Mr. Fischer will lead 11 of the 18 Masterworks Series programs, which include more than 60 pieces with repertoire spanning 250 years, all performed in the Utah Symphony’s Abravanel Hall. A complete list of programs with performance dates is provided below.

“I’m thrilled to share plans for our 2014-15 season, leading up to our 75th anniversary celebration in 2015-16. I am pleased to honor this anniversary with a big Mahler Symphony Cycle, a wonderful tribute to the legacy of Maurice Abravanel that will be performed over two seasons, ending in May 2016,” said Mr. Fischer, who will begin his sixth season as Utah Symphony’s Music Director. “I hope that our passion on stage, our dedication to the community, our energy, motivation, and vision of excellence will be contagious. I look forward to seeing everyone in Abravanel Hall, and hope that all will be inspired by our programs. We are striving to create a bridge between the outside world and our inner world.”

This season’s highlights include the world premiere of EOS, a new work named after the Greek goddess of the dawn by composer Augusta Read Thomas and commissioned by the Utah Symphony, on February 20 and 21. In a collaboration between the Utah Symphony and the Utah Symphony Chorus, prepared by newly appointed Symphony Chorus Director Barlow Bradford, Mr. Fischer will lead a performance of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé on April 10 and 11. In a special New Year’s program on January 2 and 3, Mr. Fischer will lead the symphony in a concert featuring works by Johann Strauss II and Shostakovich.

The 2014-15 season also brings the long-anticipated reintroduction of a Chamber Music Series. The series brings regular season Utah Symphony | Utah Opera programming to Park City, where the organization presents its annual Deer Valley® Music Festival outdoor summer series, in an effort to establish a larger presence there during the winter season. The Chamber Series will have music complementing the operas that are opening the following week at Utah Opera.

Guest soloists for the 2014-15 season include pianist Yefim Bronfman, who will perform Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 on September 19 and 20; pianist and conductor Ignat Solzhenitsyn, who will lead the Utah Symphony in a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 18 in B-flat, K. 456 on October 24 and 25; and pianist André Watts, who has been a favorite with Utah Symphony audiences for five decades, in a performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor” on March 6 and 7.

Other guest artists include Principal Guest Conductor of Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Kazuki Yamada, in his United States debut leading the Utah Symphony in works by Glazunov, Mussorgsky, and Saint-Saëns on May 1 and 2; soprano Celena Shafer, a native of Utah performing in three concerts beginning with Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 on November 14 and 15; and German violinist Veronika Eberle making her debut with the Utah Symphony and closing the season with a performance of Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 on May 22 and 23.

President and CEO of the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, Melia Tourangeau, said, “In his sixth season as Music Director, I am thrilled with the level of musicianship Thierry Fischer brings to our audiences. He continues to introduce world-renowned guest conductors, world-class guest artists, and compelling and exciting repertoire to all of us. As we approach the 75th anniversary of the Utah Symphony in 2015, I can see no better way to celebrate this milestone than reviving the Mahler tradition that Maurice Abravanel brought to our community and the world. Yefim Bronfman is probably one of the most sought-after pianists in the industry and his return to the Abravanel stage is going to be a personal highlight of my season, along with the Mahler symphonies, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, and Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben.”

In a tribute to former Utah Symphony Music Director Maurice Abravanel, who led the orchestra for more than 30 years and is responsible for recording Mahler’s complete symphonies along with the first-ever recordings of Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8, Mr. Fischer will begin a two-season project conducting the Mahler symphony cycle. The 2014-15 season will include Symphonies Nos. 1 – 4 over four concerts in the Masterworks Series.

Since Mr. Fischer’s appointment as music director, he has initiated two multi-season surveys of the works of composers Igor Stravinsky and Franz Joseph Haydn. The performances continue this season with Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments and Haydn’s Symphony No. 5.

As part of the Utah Symphony Entertainment Series, former Tonight Show bandleader and trumpet player Doc Severinsen will conduct a special concert on September 26 and 27, and Pink Martini, an instrumental group drawing inspiration from music from around the world, will perform on December 12 and 13.

Utah Symphony | Utah Opera offers three social networking organizations for classical music enthusiasts: Vivace (young professionals who enjoy classical music performances and exciting after-parties with USUO musicians), Cadenza (single music-lovers who have reached their golden years but are still young at heart), and Utah SOL (Latino classical music and opera aficionados).

Vivace subscribers receive discounted tickets to select Utah Symphony | Utah Opera performances, special program notes, and admission to after-parties with guest artists and musicians, catered by some of Salt Lake City’s best restaurants. Vivace subscribers will attend five Utah Symphony performances. 

Cadenza members receive similar benefits and dine together at local restaurants before select Utah Symphony | Utah Opera performances. Cadenza subscribers will attend six Utah Symphony performances.

Utah Symphony Opera Latinos (Sol) is a group that connects Latino classical music aficionados in the Salt Lake City community through great live music, who receive invitations to attend special monthly events and share the experience of attending Utah Symphony and Utah Opera performances together. Utah Sol members attend the Monday evening performance of each opera.

Finishing Touches dress rehearsals allow members to experience a behind-the-scenes look at the Utah Symphony with four open dress rehearsals this season. Complimentary light refreshments are served prior to the rehearsal in the lobby.

The Utah Symphony | Utah Opera Education website (www.usuoeducation.org) provides an engaging educational experience for the next generation of Utah’s classical music audience with links to family, community outreach, and school events with resources for teachers and young artists.

Subscription renewals and purchases are available online at www.utahsymphony.org starting February 4, 2014. 2013-14 subscribers have until March 27, 2014 to renew their subscriptions or request seat changes for the 2014-15 season before seats will be released to new subscribers and subscribers requesting seat changes. Subscriptions may also be renewed or purchased by calling (801) 533-6683 or by visiting the Abravanel Hall Ticket Office (123 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT).

To request a 2014-15 Utah Symphony season brochure, please call Utah Symphony | Utah Opera Patron Services at (801) 533-6683, email [email protected], or write to ATTN: USUO Patron Services, 123 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101.

For more information on the Utah Symphony’s 2014-15 season, please contact Renée Huang, Director of Public Relations, at [email protected] or (801) 869-9027.

MASTERWORKS SERIES

September 12 & 13, 2014 | 8 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
SMITH/KEY: National Anthem
MOSOLOV: Iron Foundry
BEETHOVEN: Wellington’s Victory
MAHLER: Symphony No. 1, “Titan”

September 19 & 20, 2014 | 8 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Yefim Bronfman, Piano
STRAVINSKY:   Symphonies of Wind Instruments (multi-season survey of Stravinsky’s music)
SCHOENBERG: Transfigured night
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2            

October 24 & 25, 2014 | 8 PM
Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Conductor & Piano
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 18 in B Flat, K. 456
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 7
HINDEMITH: Symphonic Metamorphoses                             

November 7 & 8, 2014 | 8 PM
Ilan Volkov, Guest Conductor (Utah Symphony Debut)
Marc-André Hamelin, Piano
MOZART: Rondo in A Major for Piano & Orchestra, K. 386
R. STRAUSS: Burleske for Piano and Orchestra
BARTÓK: Concerto for Orchestra

November 14 & 15, 2014 | 8 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Celena Shafer, Soprano
Jennifer Johnson Cano, Mezzo-Soprano
Utah Symphony Chorus
HAYDN: Symphony No. 5 (continuing Mr. Fischer’s multi-season Haydn Symphony cycle)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection” 

November 21 & 22, 2014 | 8 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Fumiaki Miura, Violin
DVOŘÁK: My Home                             
SAINT-SAËNS: Violin Concerto No. 3
DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 7  

December 5 & 6, 2014 | 8 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Celena Shafer, Soprano
Cynthia Hanna, Mezzo-Soprano
Chad Shelton, Tenor
Michael Dean, Bass-Baritone
Utah Symphony Chorus
DUTILLEUX: Métaboles 
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9, “Choral”

January 2 & 3, 2015 | 8 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
SHOSTAKOVICH: Festive Overture                   
BORODIN: Polovtzian Dances
SHOSTAKOVICH: Jazz Suite No. 2
BERLIOZ: Hungarian March
J. STRAUSS, Jr.: Künstlerleben
LUMBYE: Champagne Galop
WOLFGANG RIHM: Sehnsuchtswalzer from Drei Walzer
BRAHMS: Hungarian Dance No. 5
J. STRAUSS, Jr.: Im Krapfenwald’l
J. STRAUSS, Jr.: Eljen A Magyar

January 9 & 10, 2015 | 8 PM
Mark Wigglesworth, Conductor
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 15
TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker: Act II 

January 30 & 31, 2015 | 8 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Baiba Skride, Violin
WAGNER: Siegfried Idyll                                               
BERG:  Violin Concerto
R. STRAUSS: A Hero’s Life (Ein Heldenleben)     

February 6 & 7, 2015 | 8 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Tamara Mumford, Mezzo-Soprano
Women of the Utah Symphony Chorus
Choristers of the Madeleine Choir School
MAHLER: Symphony No. 3

February 20 & 21, 2015 | 8 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Baiba Skride, Violin
PROKOFIEV: “Classical” Symphony
AUGUSTA READ THOMAS: EOS World Premiere, Utah Symphony Commission
BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto

March 6 & 7, 2015 | 8 PM
Hugh Wolff, Conductor
André Watts, Piano
COPLAND: Fanfare for the Common Man
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
COPLAND: Symphony No. 3

March 27 & 28, 2015 | 8 PM
Jun Märkl, Conductor
Ingrid Fliter, Piano
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 2
WAGNER: Orchestral Suite from The Ring

April 10 & 11, 2015 | 8 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Utah Symphony Chorus
DEBUSSY: Prelude to the afternoon of a Faun
STRAVINSKY: Symphony in Three Movements
RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloé

April 17 & 18, 2015 | 8 PM
Bernard Labadie, Conductor
Benedetto Lupo, Piano
HAYDN: Overture to The Deserted Island
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K. 467
MOZART: Symphony No. 41 in C, K. 551, “Jupiter”

May 1 & 2, 2015 | 8 PM
Kazuki Yamada, Conductor (U.S. Debut)
MUSSORGSKY: Night on Bald Mountain
GLAZUNOV: Symphony No. 5
SAINT-SAËNS:  Symphony No. 3, “Organ Symphony” 

May 22 & 23, 2015 | 8 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Veronika Eberle, Violin (Utah Symphony Debut)
Celena Shafer, Soprano
SHOSTAKOVICH: Violin Concerto No. 1
MAHLER: Symphony No. 4

CHAMBER SERIES

January 15, 2015 | St. Mary’s Church in Park City
Vladimir Kulenovic, Conductor
DEBUSSY: Six épigraphes antiques (arr. by Jean-Francois Pailliard)
FRANCAIZ: Sérénade
POULENC: Sextet
IBERT: Divertissement

May 7, 2015 | St. Mary’s Church in Park City
Vladimir Kulenovic, Conductor
STRAVINSKY: Concerto in D, “Basle”
STRAVINSKY: Dumbarton Oaks
STRAVINSKY: Octet, for wind instruments
STRAVINSKY: Danses concertantes, for chamber orchestra

ENTERTAINMENT SERIES

Doc Severinsen: Solid Gold
September 26 & 27, 2014 | 8 PM
Doc Severinsen: Solid Gold
Doc Severinsen, Conductor & Trumpet 

Cirque de la Symphonie
October 31 & November 1, 2014 | 8 PM
Jerry Steichen, Conductor
Cirque de la Symphony, Guest Artists 

Joy to the World with Pink Martini
December 12 & 13, 2014 | 8 PM
Jerry Steichen, Conductor 

The Streisand Songbook
February 13 & 14, 2015 | 8 PM
Ann Hampton Callaway, Vocalist
Jerry Steichen, Conductor

The Midtown Men
April 24 & 25, 2015 | 8 PM
Featuring four stars from the original cast of Jersey Boys.
Jerry Steichen, Conductor
Christian Hoff, Michael Longoria, Daniel Reichard, J. Robert Spencer, Guest Artists

SPECIAL SERIES

Salute to Youth
September 30, 2014 | 7 PM
Vladimir Kulenovic, Conductor 

Halloween Hi-Jinks
October 28, 2014 | 7 PM
Vladimir Kulenovic, Conductor 

Messiah Sing-In
November 29-30, 2014 | 7 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Utah Symphony Chorus 

Utah Symphony Pro-Am
March 31, 2015 | 7 PM
Vladimir Kulenovic, Conductor 

All-Star Evening
May 19, 2015 | 7 PM
Vladimir Kulenovic, Conductor

FAMILY SERIES
Here Comes Santa Claus!
December 13, 2014 | 11 AM & 12:30 PM
Vladimir Kulenovic, Conductor 

Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf
March 21, 2015 | 11 AM & 12:30 PM 

Peter Pan & Other Adventures
April 25, 2015 | 11 AM & 12:30 PM
Vladimir Kulenovic, Conductor

EDUCATION / OUTREACH

Access to Music – A Concert for Children with Special Needs and their Families
January 22, 2015 | 7 PM | Capitol Theatre

Founded in 1940, the Utah Symphony is dedicated to providing Utah residents and visitors with great performances which engage, educate, and enrich lives. Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, the orchestra’s parent organization, reaches 450,000 residents in Utah and the Intermountain region, with educational outreach programs serving more than 155,000 students annually. The orchestra presents 175 concerts annually: 70 performances each season in Abravanel Hall, and participation in the Utah Opera’s four annual productions at the Capitol Theatre in addition to numerous community concerts throughout Utah and the annual outdoor summer series – the Deer Valley® Music Festival – in Park City, Utah.

For over three decades, the Utah Symphony performed at the Mormon Tabernacle in the heart of Salt Lake City. The orchestra moved to its current home at Abravanel Hall in the fall of 1979. Since the founding of Utah Opera in 1978, the Utah Symphony has performed for its productions at Salt Lake’s Capitol Theatre. In 2002, the two organizations merged to form Utah Symphony | Utah Opera. By the 1970s, the Utah Symphony’s summer season had grown to include outdoor concerts held at ski venues and at parks across the state. The orchestra’s season grew to a 52-week schedule in 1980, and since 2003, its permanent summer home is the Deer Valley® Music Festival in Park City, Utah.

The Utah Symphony became recognized as a leading American ensemble largely through the efforts of Maurice Abravanel, its Music Director from 1947 to 1979. During his tenure, the orchestra undertook four international tours, released over a hundred recordings, and developed an extensive music education program. Included in the orchestra’s discography with Abravanel are première recordings of works by Honegger, Milhaud, Satie, Schumann, and Varèse. A pioneering cycle of Mahler Symphonies was recorded between 1963-1974 which included the first commercial recordings of the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies.

Abravanel’s tenure was followed by Varujan Kojian (1979-1983), Joseph Silverstein (1983-1998), and Keith Lockhart (1998-2009). The orchestra’s legacy of recording and touring continued with each of the three subsequent Music Directors. Varujan Kojian’s tenure brought appearances at the Bergen Festival (Norway) during the 1981 European tour and recordings of works by Berlioz, Brahms and Liszt in addition to a number of film scores. Joseph Silverstein made over a dozen recordings during his 15 seasons as Music Director, often appearing as both soloist and conductor. The 1986 European tour with Silverstein was distinguished by a return to the Berlin Festival and concerts in both East and West Berlin. With the Utah Symphony, Keith Lockhart made recordings of works by Bernstein and Rachmaninoff and released a CD of music from the 2002 Olympics. He conducted the orchestra during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics with guest artists Yo-Yo Ma and Sting. In 2000, he led the orchestra along with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in a nationally broadcast PBS special featuring Vaughan William’s Christmas Oratorio “Hodie”. The orchestra returned to Europe with Keith Lockhart in the Spring of 2005. Thierry Fischer’s appointment as the Utah Symphony’s seventh Music Director was made in 2009.

The orchestra has been nominated for Grammy Awards for recordings with both Maurice Abravanel: Honegger, Le Roi David (1963), Bloch, Sacred Service (1979), Stravinsky, Symphony of Psalms (1980) and with Michael Tilson-Thomas: Copland, Old American Songs (1988). The Utah Symphony has recorded extensively for Albany, Angel (EMI), CBS Masterworks (Sony), Dorian, Harmonia Mundi, London (Decca), CRI/New World Records, Nonesuch, Pro Arte, RCA Red Seal (BMG), Reference, Telarc, Vanguard (Philips), Varèse Sarabande, Vox and Westminster (DG).

With its many subscription, education, and outreach concerts and tours, the Utah Symphony is one of the most engaged full-time orchestras in the nation. For more information visit www.utahsymphony.org.

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The Season Sponsor for Utah Symphony | Utah Opera
is the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.

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