EOS World Premiere, Andre Watts, Kazuki Yamada and More Set for Utah Symphony's 2014-15 Season

Utah Symphony Music Director Thierry Fischer and President & CEO Melia Tourangeau today announced the Utah Symphony's complete 2014-15 season. Maestro Fischer will lead the Symphony through 11 of the 18 Masterworks Series performances, 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 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 Maestro 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 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, Maestro 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, Maestro Fischer will lead the symphony in a concert featuring works by Johann Strauss II and Shostakovich that reflects the annual televised performances of the Vienna Philharmonic on New Year's Day from Musikverein in Vienna.

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: French music in January right before Bizet's The Pearl Fishers (January 17-25, 2015) and Stravinsky's music in May in anticipation of the composer's opera, The Rake's Progress (May 9-18, 2015).

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 concert 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 as an artist in residence beginning with Mahler's Symphony No. 2 on November 14 and 15; and German violinist Veronika Eberle 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 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, Maestro Fischer will begin a two-season project conducting the Mahler symphony cycle. The 2014-15 season will include Symphony Nos. 1 - 4 over four concerts in the Masterworks Series.

Since Maestro 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 and 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 on September 20, November 22, January 10, February 21, and April 11. They also attend Utah Opera's opening night performance of The Rake's Progress on May 9, 2015.

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 on September 12, November 21, October 24, January 2, March 6, and May 1. They also attend Utah Opera's opening night performance of The Pearl Fishers on January 17, 2015.

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 on October 24, January 9, March 6, and May 22 beginning at 10 AM. Complimentary light refreshments are served prior to the rehearsal in the lobby.

The Utah Symphony | Utah Opera 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, Utah).

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

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