Written by Jeff Counts

Instrumentation: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, piano, strings

Duration: 1 minute.

THE COMPOSER – IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) – It is clear in any study of Stravinsky’s career that he was a master of timely self-reinvention. So the fact that the early 1950s found him considering another new direction in his compositional life is not a surprising discovery, even if the direction itself was quite unexpected. Though no one knew it at the time, his 1951 opera The Rake’s Progress would be his last substantial statement in the neo-Classical style.    

THE MUSIC – Stravinsky lived within ten miles of Schoenberg in Los Angeles but the two men maintained no relationship whatsoever, neither as neighbors nor peers. Stravinsky was publically disinclined towards serialism and structured atonality in general and though he was willing to admit a certain respect for the discipline of the 12-tone compositional technique, he considered its practitioners “prisoners” of a rigid abstraction. When Schoenberg died in 1951 Stravinsky was developing a close working partnership with the conductor (and avowed Schoenberg champion) Robert Craft. Their friendship exposed Stravinsky more deeply to the atonal concepts he had previously dismissed and initiated the gradual shift towards serialism that defined his latter years. Tucked away among his earliest efforts was the quirky Greeting Prelude of 1955. Born of a comical experience at the Aspen Festival in 1950, the Prelude is a very brief set of “12-tone-esque” variations on the famous “Happy Birthday” melody by Patty and Mildred Hill. Stravinsky had been shocked and momentarily offended when, after giving the rehearsal downbeat of Tchaikovsky’s 2nd Symphony, he was greeted instead by the comparatively irreverent sounds of that “ridiculous little tune.” The Aspen orchestra had planned the spontaneous outburst as tribute to a colleague who had recently become a father. Though Stravinsky later admitted that he completely failed to “get it” at the time, he soon put the melody to use himself as a witty “singing telegram” for the 80th birthday of his dear friend Pierre Monteux.                                             

THE WORLD – Panamanian President José Antonio Remón Cantera was assassinated in 1955. Also that year, Juan Perón was overthrown in Argentina, Austria formally regained her sovereignty and Vladimir Nabokov published his controversial novel Lolita. 

Performances of the Utah Symphony in Ogden are presented at the Val A. Browning Center on the Weber State University Campus by the Ogden Symphony Ballet Association.
For tickets, visit www.symphonyballet.org or call 801-399-9214. Tickets for these events are not available through ArtTix or USUO Patron Services.

Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2
September 13, 2012 (Thursday) | 7:30 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Yevgeny Sudbin, Piano

Russian Masters
October 25, 2012 (Thursday) | 7:30 PM
Gerard Schwarz, Conductor
Lukas Geniusas, Piano

Rhapsody in Blue
November 1, 2012 (Thursday) | 7:30 PM
Jerry Steichen, Conductor
Jason Hardink, Piano
Lisa Vroman, Soprano

Here Comes Santa Claus!
December 18, 2012 (Tuesday) | 7 PM
Vladimir Kulenovic, Conductor

Holiday Celebration with Bravo Broadway!
December 20, 2012 (Thursday) | 7:30 PM
Jerry Steichen, Conductor
LaKisha Jones, Mezzo Soprano
Doug LaBrecque, Tenor
West Jordan High School Concert Choir

Sibelius' Violin Concerto
January 10, 2013 (Thursday) | 7:30 PM
Gilbert Varga, Conductor
Tobias Feldmann, Violin

Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony
February 7, 2013 (Thursday) | 7:30 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Baiba Skride, Violin

"Do You Hear the People Sing"
February 28, 2013 (Thursday) | 7:30 PM
Jerry Steichen, Conductor

El Salon Mexico
April 1, 2013 (Monday) | 7 PM
Vladimir Kulenovic, Conductor

The Music of John Williams
May 2, 2013 (Thursday) | 7:30 PM
Jerry Steichen, Conductor

The Utah Symphony performs legendary symphonies by Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Symphony No. 5 finds Tchaikovsky wrestling yet again with the inexorable progress of “fate” but first on the program is the final symphony of Mozart. Both works display the work of a master in complete control of his own compositional style. For Tchaikovsky, this means soaring melodies and searing drama. With Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony, we hear the courtly brilliance of the Classical era at its apex and wish that some composers could live forever. 

For tickets, please contact the respective venues using the information below. Tickets for these events are not available through ArtTix or USUO Patron Services.

Mozart & Tchaikovsky
Thierry Fischer, Conductor

Mozart: Symphony No. 41 ("Jupiter")
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5

Utah Valley University - Orem, Utah
October 3, 2012 |7:30 PM
Sorensen Center Grande Ballroom
www.uvu.edu/campusconnection
801-863-8797

Dixie State College - St. George, Utah
October 4, 2012 | 7:30 PM
Cox Performing Arts Center
www.dixie.edu/concerts/
435-652-7800

Cedar City, Utah
October 5, 2012 | 7:30 PM
Heritage Center
www.heritagectr.org
435-865-2896

Performances of the Utah Symphony's Park City Winter Series are presented at the Eccles Center for the Performing Arts in Park City, Utah. Tickets are available through ArtTix.org or by calling 801-355-2787. Series ticket packages are available by calling 801-533-6683 or can be purchased online here.

Holiday Celebration with Bravo Broadway!
December 23, 2012 (Sunday) | 7:30 PM
Jerry Steichen, Conductor
LaKisha Jones, Mezzo Soprano
Doug LaBrecque, Tenor
West Jordan High School Concert Choir

Buy Tickets!

Beethoven Symphony No. 7
and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 1
February 21, 2013 (Thursday) | 7:30 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor

Buy Tickets!

Performances of the Utah Symphony at BYU are presented at the de Jong Concert Hall on the Brigham Young University campus.

For tickets, visit arts.byu.edu or call 801-422-4322. Tickets for these events are not available through ArtTix or USUO Patron Services.

Mozart, Mahler, and Hilary Hahn
November 15, 2012 (Thursday) | 7:30 PM
Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Hilary Hahn, Violin

An American in Paris
March 7, 2013 (Thursday) | 7:30 PM
Andrew Grams, Conductor

May 3-4 | 8 PM Abravanel Hall

Jerry Steichen, Conductor

Featuring the music from America's favorite film scores, including Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, and Star Wars.

April 26-27 | 8 PM Abravanel Hall

Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Yu Kosuge, Piano

Holt - Ellsworth 2
Mozart - Concerto No. 24 in C minor for Piano and Orchestra
Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique

Witness one of the strangest musical love notes ever written. Berlioz had it bad for Harriet Smithson, an Irish Shakespearean actress whom he would later briefly marry. He captured his "endless passion" for her in a wildly imaginative Fantastic Symphony that takes the listener on a fictional journey through sumptuous reveries and drug-induced dreams that lead ultimately to a death by beheading. Passion indeed! Nothing quite like it had ever been heard before. This exciting program also includes a mature concerto by Mozart and a world premiere by Englishman composer Simon Holt.

April 19-20 | 8 PM Abravanel Hall

Thierry Fischer, Conductor
Conrad Tao, Pianist

Tchaikovsky - Sleeping Beauty Suite, Op. 66a
Schoenberg - Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene, Op. 34
Tchaikovsky - Capriccio Italien, Op. 45
Tchaikovsky - Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra in B-flat Minor, Op. 23

Utah Symphony's two week festival featuring the work of Tchaikovsky and Schoenberg comes to a close with musical treats galore. Tchaikovsky's magestic and celebrated Piano Concerto No. 1 will be joined by two other romantic works - his magical Sleeping Beauty suite, and the joyful, folk music infused Capriccio Italien. Schoenberg's chilling score for an imaginary film completes the evening.

Important: Please Note Program & Guest Artist Change
Unfortunately guest soloist Louis Lortie has come down with the flu and with great reluctance must cancel his appearance with the Utah Symphony this weekend. For more information, please read the April 15 press release.