Thierry Fischer Conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with Utah Symphony This Weekend

Maestro Thierry Fischer and the Utah Symphony continue in their 2-year Mahler Symphony Cycle with a commanding performance of Mahler's "Symphony No. 3" this weekend, February 6 and 7 at 8 p.m. in Abravanel Hall. Famed for being one of Mahler's most extensive works, "Symphony No. 3" features the vocal talents of Utah-native mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, the women of the Utah Symphony Chorus, and The Madeleine Choir School. Tickets, priced from $18 to $69 ($10 for students), are available for purchase through www.utahsymphony.org or by calling (801) 355-2787.

Often thought of as Mahler's "pastoral" symphony, this work contemplates universal questions surrounding the relationship between human existence and the natural world that envelops us. "My symphony will be something the like of which the world has never heard," Mahler told a friend just before completing it. "In it, all of nature finds a voice." Even though this is Mahler's longest symphony, it is his most popular as the music flows from the bright floral and growth of spring and summer, to the darkness and despair of winter. Mahler's fascination with depicting nature in music shows him a Romantic composer at heart, and a fit center of attention in Utah Symphony | Utah Opera's cultural festival this year, The Romantics.

Called "vocally resplendent and dramatically potent" by the New York Times, Utah-native Tamara Mumford returns to Utah to perform the solo in the fourth movement of Mahler's "Symphony No. 3," with thematic text from Friedrich Nietzsche's "Also sprach Zarathustra" (the "Midnight Song"). A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Ms. Mumford made her debut there as Laura in "Luisa Miller" and has appeared in more than 140 performances with the Metropolitan Opera. This is her third performance with the Utah Symphony.

RELATED EVENTS:

Vice President of Artistic Planning Toby Tolokan will present a free pre-concert chat for ticket holders each night at 7 p.m., one hour prior to the start of the performance in the First Tier Room of Abravanel Hall (123 West South Temple).

Utah Symphony | Utah Opera's education department has created a "Mahler Cycle" section on the Utah Symphony website to provide people with information and insight into the composer and his famous symphonies. In advance of every Mahler symphony, an online listening guide filled with background materials and information movement by movement will be posted. The materials are created by assistant profession of musicology at University of Utah, Bettie Jo Basinger. Audio clips and oral histories of former Utah Symphony musicians recalling Maestro Abravanel's work with the Mahler symphonies are also included in the drop-down menu. http://www.utahsymphony.org/the-mahler-cycle

PROGRAM:

The Utah Symphony presents

Mahler's Symphony No. 3

Abravanel Hall, 123 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah

Feb. 6-7, 2015 | 8 p.m. Abravanel Hall

Thierry Fischer, Conductor

Tamara Mumford, mezzo-soprano

Women of the Utah Symphony Chorus

The Madeleine Choir School

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 3

Tickets, priced from $18 to $69 ($10 for students), are available for purchase through www.utahsymphony.org or by calling (801) 355-2787. Tickets increase $5 on the day of the performance.

About The Madeleine Choir School - Located in downtown Salt Lake City, The Madeleine Choir School is a mission of The Cathedral of the Madeleine, serving young people in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade Eight. Modeled after the historic cathedral schools in Europe, the Choir School offers a rigorous academic program in the humanities, mathematics and sciences, and the arts, as well as strong character formation and activities designed to nurture the whole child. It provides every student an exceptional music education, including two years of violin study and intensive vocal training.

About the Utah Symphony - Founded in 1940, the Utah Symphony is dedicated to offering orchestral performances that span the traditions of the past and challenge possibilities for our present and future audiences. 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 more than 70 performances each season in Abravanel Hall, participates 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. 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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