Salt Lake City — The Utah Symphony has a storied and unique relationship with Mahler’s music, deeply embedded in Salt Lake City’s cultural history. Under the visionary leadership of past music director Maurice Abravanel, the orchestra became the first in the U.S. to perform and record Mahler’s complete symphonies—an extraordinary feat given the monumental scope of these works in length, complexity, and size of the orchestra. This legacy continues today, as the Utah Symphony prepares for back-to-back Mahler performances under the baton of Music Director Emeritus Thierry Fischer beginning this weekend.
On February 21 and 22, 2025, at 7:30 PM, the Utah Symphony will perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City. This symphony is renowned for its tremendous power and the gentle beauty of its Adagietto, where the harp’s delicate, ethereal presence enhances its heartfelt lyricism. The work moves from mourning, to love, to triumph, encapsulating themes from Mahler’s own life, including his courtship of his wife, Alma Schindler. The performance will also feature Haydn’s Symphony No. 13, known for its buoyant beauty and a deeply expressive Adagio.
The following week, on February 28 and March 1, 2025, Thierry Fischer will conduct Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, often referred to as the “Tragic” Symphony. This deeply personal work delves into Mahler’s inner thoughts and premonitions, exploring themes of love, loss, and fate. The symphony includes tender sketches of his wife, Alma, and a heart-rending musical representation of childhood innocence turning tragic. The chilling finale features a giant hammer strike symbolizing the blows of fate that haunt Mahler’s vision.
“I wanted to pair these two [Mahler Symphony Five and Mahler’s Symphony Six] in two consecutive weeks, because this music begins with sadness, but ends with hope and light,” says Music Director Emeritus Thierry Fischer. I really like this message of transition from the utmost darkness to finding light—it’s more than inspiring, it’s a state of mind.”
Maurice Abravanel’s recordings of Mahler’s symphonies with the Utah Symphony were groundbreaking. Partnering with Vanguard Records, he brought Mahler’s music to a wider audience, contributing significantly to the growing appreciation of these works in America. The recordings were lauded for their interpretive depth and clarity, especially given the challenges of capturing Mahler’s intricate orchestrations and dynamic range. Though recorded on a smaller budget compared to other major orchestras, Abravanel and the Utah Symphony’s Mahler cycle stood out for its emotional intensity and commitment to Mahler’s vision. These recordings played a critical role in both the Utah Symphony’s rise to prominence and Mahler’s increasing popularity among American audiences in the mid-20th century.
Thierry Fischer, during his tenure as Utah Symphony Music Director from 2008 to 2023, honored the ensemble’s storied history with Mahler. One of the most significant milestones came in 2011, when he led the Utah Symphony in an ambitious project to perform Mahler’s complete symphonic cycle. This achievement was monumental not only because of the scope of Mahler’s music but also because it helped solidify the Utah Symphony as one of the leading Mahler ensembles in the United States. Since then, Mahler’s symphonies have been a mainstay in the symphony’s programming, attracting both seasoned classical music lovers and new audiences drawn to the emotional intensity and grandeur of Mahler’s music. These performances have often garnered rave reviews for Utah Symphony’s ability to communicate Mahler’s expansive emotional range.
Mahler’s music is woven into the very identity of the Utah Symphony, having shaped its legacy and propelled it onto the national and international stage. The orchestra’s landmark recordings of Mahler’s symphonies under Maurice Abravanel were a defining achievement, elevating Utah’s cultural profile and cementing the ensemble’s reputation for ambitious, world-class music-making. As Music Director Emeritus Thierry Fischer (another figure who shaped the orchestra’s legacy) returns to Utah, his upcoming performances invite audiences to celebrate an important piece of our state’s culture history and experience the emotional and sonic grandeur of Mahler in the present day, in the stunning acoustics of Abravanel Hall.
“You feel the weight of each performance,” explains Fischer, referring to the symphonies he will lead over the next two weekends. “At the end you will say, ‘I don’t feel the same; I am changed.’ In fact, my own senses of perception are not the same after conducting these performances. It’s magnificent.”
Concert Listing
Thursday, February 20, 2025 / 8:00 PM / BYU Concert Hall – School of Music Building
(1100 N 900 E Provo, UT 8460)
Friday, February 21, 2025 / 7:30 PM / Abravanel Hall
Saturday, February 22, 2025 / 7:30 PM / Abravanel Hall
(123 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah)
ARTISTS:
Thierry Fischer, conductor
Utah Symphony
PROGRAM:
HAYDN: Symphony No. 13 MAHLER: Symphony No. 5
Friday, February 28, 2025 / 7:30 PM / Abravanel Hall
Saturday, March 1, 2025 / 5:30 PM / Abravanel Hall
(123 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah)
ARTISTS
Thierry Fischer, conductor
Utah Symphony
PROGRAM:
MAHLER: Symphony No. 6
TICKETS start at $21 50% STUDENT & UNDER-30 DISCOUNT PURCHASE NOW:
· Online: utahsymphony.org
· USUO mobile app
· By Phone: USUO Patron Services, (801) 533-NOTE (6683)
· In person: 123 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah
· ArtTix outlets
Season Sponsor for Utah Symphony | Utah Opera is the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.
About Utah Symphony | Utah Opera Utah Symphony | Utah Opera connects Utah communities through great live music and is the flagship arts organization of the Intermountain West. USUO’s 87 full-time symphony musicians and five opera Resident Artists perform for more than 400,000 citizens in Utah and the Intermountain region each year, presenting more than 175 symphonic and chamber music performances; week-long runs of four fully produced operas; and music education programs for students and adult learners. The organization’s statewide service includes tours featuring outdoor performances against the backdrop of Utah’s natural beauty as well as education offerings—most recently, the six-stop Music Elevated Tour in August 2023.
Founded in 1940 and one of just 17 year-round professional orchestras in the U.S., the Utah Symphony performs at downtown Salt Lake City’s Maurice Abravanel Hall, at its Deer Valley Music Festival in Park City, in Utah Opera productions, and at venues throughout the state of Utah. The symphony has embarked on seven international tours and performed at Carnegie Hall in 2016 in honor of its 75th anniversary season. The orchestra’s celebrated recording legacy includes more than 100 recordings; in April 2023, its latest album featuring Messiaen’s Des canyons aux étoiles—a work inspired by three scenic Utah locations—was released to great international acclaim. Thierry Fischer, who envisioned and conducted that recording and led the Utah Symphony as Music Director from 2014 to 2023, was named Music Director Emeritus beginning in the 2023-24 season. In 2024, Markus Poschner was named Music Director Designate.
Since 1978, Utah Opera has provided citizens with distinguished and entertaining productions at Salt Lake City’s historic Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre—showcasing emerging and established artists, celebrating traditional works, and championing new works and the American operatic tradition. Utah Opera is one of just six opera companies in the U.S. with full production capabilities, including in-house costume design, set building, and props studios; the company currently has costumes for 50 productions and 19 full sets in its inventory. Utah Opera’s Resident Artist program is nationally recognized for providing invaluable career-training opportunities for professional singers and collaborative pianists.
USUO leads in music education, with interactive and immersive education programs that engage and inspire tomorrow’s musicians and music-lovers. In the community, in classrooms, and in venues, these programs serve 130,000 students, teachers, and adult learners annually and reach every school district in Utah on a three-year rotation.
For more information about Utah Symphony | Utah Opera and its Deer Valley Music Festival, visit usuo.org, utahsymphony.org, utahopera.org, and deervalleymusicfestival.org.
Media Contact:
Megs Vincent
Communications Manager
Utah Symphony | Utah Opera
mvincent@usuo.org | (801) 869-9021