Thierry Fischer to Complete Brahms' Cycle with Utah Symphony in Two February Weekends

On February 3 and 4 at 7:30 PM, Maestro Fischer will conduct Brahms' Symphony No. 2 and Brahms' "Academic Festival Overture", in a concert that features guest artist Narek Hakhnazaryan debuting in Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1. Maestro Fischer will return to the stage two weeks later to lead Brahms' Symphony No. 4 on February 24 and 25, concluding Brahms' symphony cycle in the Utah Symphony 2016-17 season. The February 24/25 concert will also include the U.S. premiere of Michael Jarrell's composition "Aquateinte" performed by guest oboist François Leleux, for whom the piece was written. These performances are both part of the O.C. Tanner Company Masterworks Series. Tickets start at $21 ($15 for students), and can be purchased at utahsymphony.org or by calling (801) 533-6683.

On February 3 & 4, continuing the cycle of Brahms' symphonies Maestro Fischer will lead the Utah Symphony in Brahms' Symphony No. 2, following a program of Brahms' "Academic Festival Overture" and Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1, which will feature internationally-renowned guest cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan. Many critics hear an expression of the adversity of life under Soviet repression in Shostakovich's work, and the cello concerto is no exception.

To open the program, Brahms' "Academic Festival Overture" delivers an air of expectation and cheer. From its opening moments to the triumphant finale, the drama builds and the excitement never stops. While his overture offers exuberance and cheer from beginning to end, his Symphony No. 2 opens with an air of peace and wistfulness. The relative lightness of this symphony took contemporary spectators and critics by surprise at its premiere, but the journey through a range of emotions and spirited zest leaves none of his characteristic purpose and depth wanting. Brahms' symphony is the third by the composer to be performed by the Utah Symphony during this season: Symphony No. 1 was offered in September and Symphony No. 3 in November. It joins all five Beethoven piano concerti and all four Ives symphonies as part of three full cycles presented by Maestro Fischer this season.

Narek Hakhnazaryan won the Cello First Prize and Gold Medal at the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011 at the age of 22. He has performed with most major orchestras across the globe and has established himself internationally as one of the finest cellists of his generation. Narek Hakhnazaryan was born in Yerevan, Armenia, into a family of musicians: his father is a violinist and his mother a pianist. Mentored by the late Rostropovich, Mr. Hakhnazaryan received an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music in 2011 where he studied with Lawrence Lesser. Mr. Hakhnazaryan has performed with orchestras such as the London Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio, NHK Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic and Orchestre de Paris, and with conductors such as Gergiev, Guerrero, Hr?ša, Koopman, Neeme Järvi, Pletnev, Slatkin, Sokhiev, Robertson, and B?lohlávek. He made a hugely successful debut with the LA Philharmonic/Bringuier at the Hollywood Bowl in 2015 and toured Spain with the WDR Symphony/Saraste in the same year.

As part of three complete composer cycles this season, including Ives' symphonies and Beethoven's piano concertos, Maestro Fischer will conclude the Brahms' composer cycle on February 24 and 25 with the composer's final symphony. The final movement of his fourth symphony encompasses the greatest emotional range of all Brahms' symphonic finales, and was greeted with tumultuous applause at most early performances. The journey through the movements provides great satisfaction, from the emotion of a "moonlit funeral march," according to Brahms' friend Richard Strauss, to the exuberance of glittering percussion put to liberal use in the third movement. JohAnn Hummel's piece, "Introduction, Theme and Variations for Oboe and Orchestra" will also be performed, by Leleux, lauding Hummel's instrumental virtuosity and his signature soaring climax.

Utah Symphony also presents its commission of the new oboe concerto "Aquateinte" by composer Michael Jarrell, created for and performed by guest artist François Leleux. Utah Symphony co-commissioned this piece with Hessischer Rundfunk, Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo and Berner Sinfonieorchester. With each newly created work, Michael Jarrell completes his musical self-portrait; it reflects a constant quest for clarity and precision in his work as a composer, and his piece "Aquateinte" does not fall short or disappoint.

François Leleux's pre-eminence as an oboist is internationally recognized. He is regularly invited to perform by the world's leading orchestras, festivals and concert series, both as soloist and player/director, with repertoire ranging from baroque to newly commissioned works. Committed to expanding the oboe's repertoire, Leleux has had many new works commissioned for him by composers such as Nicolas Bacri, Thierry Pécou, Gilles Silvestrini, Éric Tanguy, Giya Kancheli and Michael Jarrell. During 2014/15 he - together with his wife Lisa Batiashvili - gave world premiere performances, with NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg and the New York Philharmonic, of Thierry Escaich's Double Concerto for Violin and Oboe. François Leleux is also a Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich.

Michael Jarrell studied composition with Eric Gaudibert in his native Geneva, attended various master classes at Tanglewood and completed his training with Klaus Huber in Freiburg. Between 1986 and 1988, he was a resident at the Cité des Arts in Paris and took part in the computer music course at Ircam. He resided at the Villa Médicis in Rome during 1988/89 and then joined the Instituto Svizzero di Roma in 1989-90. Characteristic of his work is the connection between compositional creativity and visual thinking: his "Assonances", which he has been working on since 1983, are presented like a sketchbook. In turn, his first major work for electronics, "Congruences" (1989), was inspired by spatial-geometric terms such as level, perspective, anamorphosis and figure, which he transferred into musical entities of time. Michael Jarrell has received numerous awards including the Prix Acanthes (1983), Beethoven Prize of the City of Bonn (1986), Prix Marescotti (1986) and the Siemens-Förderpreis (1990). In 2004 he was appointed Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in Switzerland. He has been Professor of Composition at the University of Vienna since 1993 and at the Geneva Conservatory since 2004.

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