Music Director Thierry Fischer to Conduct Utah Symphony in Tchaikovsky, Ives, and Webern, 1/6-7

On January 6 and 7 at 7:30 PM, Music Director Thierry Fischer conducts the first Utah Symphony performance of 2017 with Tchaikovsky, Ives, and Webern. Tchaikovsky's famous violin concerto will be performed by guest artist Noah Bendix-Balgley in his Utah Symphony debut. Utah Symphony's performance cycle of Charles Ives' symphonies continues with Symphony No.2, joining Brahms and Beethoven as three complete composer cycles programmed on the O.C. Tanner Company Masterworks Series this season. Webern's Variations for Orchestra rounds out the program with a later work inspired by nature. Tickets start at $21 ($15 for students), and can be purchased at www.utahsymphony.org or by calling (801) 533-6683.

Explore the symphonic world of American composer (and life-insurance salesman) Charles Ives (1874-1954), who is known for synthesizing ideas from American popular music with European religious and art music. Thierry Fischer conducts all four of his symphonies this season. Also on the program for January 6 and 7 is Austrian composer Anton Webern's Variations for Orchestra, which encapsulates his ideals of the unity of sound and the symmetry of a composition with a theme. Dramatic soundscapes make this elegant piece undeniably memorable.

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major is one of the most famous among the composer's prolific works, and is often considered the most difficult for the violin. Tchaikovsky wrote the piece during a period of reprieve and mental recovery following his failed marriage, on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. He finished the piece in less than a month in April 1878. The difficulty was finding a violinist skillful enough to deliver the unconventional piece. Although it received very mixed and often critical reviews upon its initial debut in Vienna in 1881, the breakthrough style of the concerto appealed to music lovers and open-minded critics. It met great, immediate success upon its debut in London by violinist Adolph Brodsky, and has been one of the most beloved concertos for the violin ever since.

Guest artist Noah Bendix-Balgley, First Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker, takes on Tchaikovsky's demanding piece, joining the Utah Symphony for the first time. Mr. Bendix-Balgley has thrilled and moved audiences around the world with his performances. Born in Asheville, North Carolina, he began playing violin at age 4. Mr. Bendix-Balgley graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Munich Hochschule. Since becoming a Laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and gathering acclaim at further international competitions, he has appeared as a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre National de Belgique, I Pomeriggi Musicali of Milan, and the Orchestre Royal Chambre de Wallonie (Belgium), among others. Recent and forthcoming highlights include recitals throughout Europe and the United States, and performances with the Adelaide and Auckland symphony orchestras, the Utah Symphony and Nagoya Philharmonic with Thierry Fischer, the China Philharmonic and Guangzhou Symphony with Long Yu, Brahms' Double Concerto with cellist Alisa Weilerstein and Tomas Netopil at the Aspen Music Festival, and the premiere of Mr. Bendix-Balgley's own klezmer concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra conducted by Manfred Honeck.

RELATED EVENTS
On Thursday, January 5, 2017 from 4-6 PM guest artist Noah Bendix-Balgley will give a Violin Masterclass. The event is free and open for the public to attend, but registration is required. Further information and registration will become available on the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera Education website at www.usuoeducation.org.

A pre-concert lecture, free to all ticket holders, will take place at all Masterworks Series performances in Abravanel Hall's First Tier Room 45 minutes prior to the performance.

PROGRAM
Utah Symphony Presents
Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto

January 6 & 7, 2017 | 7:30 PM
Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin
Utah Symphony

IVES Symphony No. 2
WEBERN Variations for Orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto

SPONSORS
Concert Sponsor: The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation
Conductor Sponsor: Questar
Guest Artist Sponsor: Joanne Shiebler

Tickets, priced from $21-$79, are available for purchase through www.utahsymphony.org or by calling (801) 533-6683.

About the Utah Symphony
Founded in 1940, the Utah Symphony performs more than 175 concerts each season and offers all Utahns easy access to world class live musical performances of the world's greatest music in the state's top venues. Since being named the orchestra's seventh music director in 2009, Thierry Fischer has attracted leading musicians and top soloists, refreshed programming, drawn increased audiences, and galvanized community support. In addition to numerous regional and domestic tours, including the Mighty 5® Tour of Utah's National Parks, the Utah Symphony has embarked on seven international tours and performed at Carnegie Hall in spring 2016 coinciding with the orchestra's 75th anniversary celebrations. The Utah Symphony has released more than 100 recordings, including the new release of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 last fall. Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, the orchestra's parent organization, reaches 450,000 residents in Utah and the Intermountain region, with educational outreach programs serving nearly 145,000 students annually. In addition to performances in its home in Salt Lake City, Abravanel Hall, and concerts throughout the state of Utah, the Utah Symphony participates in Utah Opera's four annual productions at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre and presents the six-week Deer Valley® Music Festival each summer in Park City, Utah. With its many subscription, education, and outreach concerts and tours, the Utah Symphony is one of the most engaged orchestras in the nation. For more information visit www.utahsymphony.org.

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