Utah Symphony Launches Season With Performance of Mahler's SYMPHONY NO. 1 This Weekend

The Utah Symphony returns to Abravanel Hall this weekend, Sept. 12 & 13 to launch the 2014-15 season with Music Director Thierry Fischer leading the orchestra in Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1 "Titan" along with works by Beethoven and Mosolov.

Mahler Symphony No. 1 will be recorded live for later release as part of the organization's 75th anniversary celebrations. This marks the first recording for Maestro Fischer with the Utah Symphony.

"I'm extremely honored to embark upon my first recording with the musicians of the Utah Symphony," said Maestro Fischer. "Recording live is always a motivating adventure. With the Soundmirror classical recording experts and the great acoustics of Abravanel Hall, we all feel ready for this challenge."

Of particular significance in the Utah Symphony's concerts and recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 is the inclusion of Blumine, the second movement that was discarded by Mahler after the first three performances. As with many of his compositions, Mahler continued to revise his Symphony No. 1 for years after its premiere. He completed the final performing edition in 1906.

This will not be the first time Mahler's Symphony No. 1 has been recorded by Utah Symphony; however, it will mark the first Mahler recording made in Abravanel Hall. Former Utah Symphony Music Director Maurice Abravanel, who led the orchestra for more than 30 years, was responsible for recording Mahler's complete symphonies along with the first-ever recordings of Mahler's seventh and eighth symphonies. Abravanel's recording of Mahler Symphony No. 1 with the Utah Symphony was released in 1974 on the Vanguard label.

Other repertoire on the concert program includes Alexander Mosolov's The Iron Foundry andLudwig van Beethoven's Wellington's Victory.

The Masterworks season opening weekend concerts mark Maestro Fischer's commencement of a two-season project conducting the Mahler symphony cycle as a tribute to Abravanel's legacy. The 2014-15 season will include Symphony Nos. 1 -- 4 over four concerts in the Masterworks Series. The full, two-year Mahler symphony cycle is generously sponsored by Kem and Carolyn Gardner in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Utah Symphony, the legacy of Maestro Abravanel, and the vision of Maestro Fischer.

"We are dedicated to investing in the expansion of what Maurice Abravanel established," said Mr. Gardner, who sits on the board of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera and, with Mrs. Gardner, is a co-chair of its Campaign for Perpetual Motion. "We are also investing in the expansion of what leaders in our community established when they created this beautiful hall. Today, we all have a responsibility to continue this legacy -- but more than a shared responsibility, it's also a great shared joy."

Since Maestro Fischer's appointment as music director, he has also initiated 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 The Rake's Progress with Utah Opera as well as Haydn's Symphony No. 5.

Single tickets for the performance start at $18 and can be purchased by phone at (801) 355-2787, in person at the Abravanel Hall ticket office (125 W. South Temple) or online by visiting www.utahsymphony.org. Tickets for patrons ages 30 or younger are available for $10 each through the USUO Upbeat program. Season subscribers can purchase discounted tickets by contacting (801) 533-6683. Those desiring group discounts should call (801) 869-9046. All ticket prices are subject to change and availability, and will increase $5 when purchased on the day of the performance.

PROGRAM

The Utah Symphony presents

Mahler's Symphony No. 1, "Titan"

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

Friday, September 12, 2014 | 8 PM / Saturday, September 13, 2014 | 8 PM

Thierry Fischer, Conductor

Alexander Mosolov The Iron Foundry: Machine Music and Zavod, op. 19

Ludwig van Beethoven Wellington's Victory, op. 91

I. Battle

II. Victory

INTERMISSION

Gustav MahlerSymphony No. 1 in D Major, "Titan"

I. Langsam, Schleppend- Immer sehr gemählich

II. Blumine

III. Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell

IV. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen

V. Stürmisch bewegt

About Soundmirror - For more than 40 years, Boston-based Soundmirror has been the first choice recording company for orchestras, choral groups, opera companies, solo artists, and every major classical music record label. Soundmirror's orchestral, solo, opera, and chamber recordings have received over 80 GRAMMY nominations and awards as well as special commendations from prestigious publications. For more information visit soundmirror.com

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.