Maestro Thierry Fischer To Lead Utah Symphony In ELGAR'S VIOLIN CONCERTO, 4/7-8

On April 7 and 8 at 7:30 PM, Music Director Thierry Fischer conducts the Utah Symphony and guest violinist Fumiaki Miura in Elgar's Violin Concerto. Also on the repertoire is Pierre Boulez's arrangement of Maurice Ravel's "Frontispice," and the famed Ravel orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," featuring a rare opportunity to hear the original tenor tuba owned by Ravel himself played during the "Bydlo" movement. Tickets start at $21 ($15 for students), and can be purchased at www.utahsymphony.org or by calling (801) 533-6683.

Maestro Thierry Fischer conducts both the Utah Symphony and Fumiaki Miura for performances of Elgar works and the Utah Symphony in "Pictures at an Exhibition." Edward Elgar is a composer everyone has unknowingly heard since they were 14. Though he is far from a one-hit wonder, his most well-known piece is one that plays every year at high school and college graduations across America: March No. 1 from "Pomp and Circumstance." His violin concerto was the last of Elgar's compositions to achieve public acceptance; its success was immediate and rapturously enthusiastic.

With his great clarity, experimental courage, and diligence, Maurice Ravel was considered France's greatest living composer through the 1920's and 30's. Known to discover new possibilities and absorb different styles, his arrangement of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" is a landmark example, popular as a virtuoso showpiece in both its many orchestral versions and in the original solo piano form. Whether you're a seasoned symphony goer or a first-timer, his auditory interpretation of a museum's worth of magnificent paintings is a performance you won't want to miss!

An unusual instrument will make its appearance at these two performances: In the 1970s, Utah Symphony Principal Tuba Gary Ofenloch was gifted the original tenor tuba that once belonged to Ravel from a former tubist in the Boston Symphony. It arrived on American soil when Boston Symphony's music director Serge Koussevitzky commissioned Ravel to orchestrate "Pictures at an Exhibition" in 1922. Koussevitzky was astute enough to write in five years of exclusive performance rights for the piece with Ravel. Interestingly, the six valves and original mouthpiece of the instrument remain intact and playable, and although it's more than 100 years old, it remains on display as a piece of art in Mr. Ofenloch's home. It was last played by former Utah Symphony trombonist Larry Zalkind on the Chicago Symphony's "Beyond the Score" multimedia series, and has never been played in Abravanel Hall or with the Utah Symphony before. Utah Symphony Principal Trombonist Mark Davidson will play the instrument in the "Bydlo" movement of "Pictures at an Exhibition."

Fumiaki Miura is not only the youngest-ever winner of the Joseph Joachim Hannover International Violin Competition (2009), but also the one with the most prizes. Now at 23, Fumiaki has performed with several of the world's leading orchestras including NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Wiener KammerOrchester, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

RELATED EVENTS
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
The Utah Symphony presents
"Pictures at an Exhibition"
April 7 & 8 | 7:30 PM
Abravanel Hall, 123 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah

Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Fumiaki Miura, violin

Elgar "Pomp and Circumstance" March No. 1
Elgar Violin Concerto
Ravel/Boulez "Frontispice"
Mussorgsky/Ravel "Pictures at an Exhibition"

SPONSORS:
Symphony Season Sponsor: George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation
Concert Sponsor: BMW of Murray | BMW of Pleasant Grove
Conductor Sponsor-Thierry Fischer: George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation
Guest Artist Sponsor- Fumiaki Miura, violin: Lawrence T. and Janet Dee Foundation

Tickets, priced from $21-$82, are available for purchase through utahsymphony.org or by calling (801) 533-6683. Student and under 30 tickets are available for $15. Tickets increase $5 on the day of the performance.

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 2016 coinciding with the orchestra's 75th anniversary celebrations. The Utah Symphony has released more than 100 recordings, including, most recently, two albums for Reference Recordings: Mahler's Symphony No. 1 and Dawn to Dust, which features three Utah Symphony-commissioned works by Nico Muhly, Andrew Norman, and Augusta Read Thomas. 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 visitwww.utahsymphony.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.