http://www.utahsymphony.org/blog Blog for Utah Symphony | Utah Opera. Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:29:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I came across a blog post the other day that mentioned Utah Symphony trombonist Larry Zalkind and a performance of his with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's 'Beyond the Score' series. The series looks awesome - the first half of each concert is a multimedia presentation about the music in the ... http://www.utahsymphony.org/blog/2008/11/18/larry-zalkind-at-csos-beyond-the-score/ With the rare convergence of the presentation of a major work for solo instrument by one of the 20th Century's most remarkable composers, with my almost complete lack of familiarity with this piece, it is my conceit for this weekend's concerts that we are hearing a "Utah Symphony premier," of ... http://www.utahsymphony.org/blog/2008/11/18/some-words-before-the-weekend/ I know you've been waiting with expectancy for the wrap up of my latest fall tour.  Well...here it goes. It was an interesting end.  Last Wednesday, was the opening night of Trilogy at Juilliard.  It was a short evening of rarely performed one-act operas by Modest Mussorgsky, Ernst Krenek, and Benjamin ... http://www.utahsymphony.org/blog/2008/11/17/the-audition-roadcontinued/ Benjamin Britten was a war-time composer from England. One of the major differences between him and his contemporaries from other countries is that he was free from oppressive dictates from the government. While music like other art forms is often a reflection of one's surroundings, Britten was also free to ... http://www.utahsymphony.org/blog/2008/11/14/a-break-from-tradition/ One of the most interesting phenomenons in music is it lives in any circumstance. From the slave ships to the royal courts, music rallies our spirits or expresses the anguish of the soul, it rejoices or cries. The production of such pieces is evidence that the human spirit longs to ... http://www.utahsymphony.org/blog/2008/11/13/he-answered-and-he-answered-well/ I was searching for some information on the internet and came across this 1990 article from the Deseret News on the Utah Symphony. In it, I found an interesting story about the Utah Symphony's first rehearsal with conductor Maurice Abravanel.  "At our first rehearsal," he recalls, "they could not get through ... http://www.utahsymphony.org/blog/2008/11/12/first-utah-symphony-rehearsal-with-maurice-abravanel/ Paula Fowler in our education department just forwarded me a link to this great article on Bernstein's Mass, the piece the orchestra will be performing in May for Keith Lockhart's finale concert as our Music Director. I thought some of you might be interested in reading it, so here you ... http://www.utahsymphony.org/blog/2008/11/10/great-article-on-bernsteins-mass/ It's been a tough couple of weeks in the world of opera.   In my last post I referenced the challenges of New York City Opera and this is only the tip of the iceberg.  Early in the week, we heard that our friends in Orange County, California, at Opera Pacific ... http://www.utahsymphony.org/blog/2008/11/09/thinking-on-friends/ In the Menotti opera, The Old Maid and the Thief, the character of Bob has a wonderful aria that begins, "When the air sings of summer, I must wander again."  For me, it's autumn.  Every year immediately following the close of our fall opera it's time to hit the "audition ... http://www.utahsymphony.org/blog/2008/11/09/on-the-audition-rode-again/ It's funny how the marketing department often works a year ahead of itself to get ready for the upcoming season. The first opera of our 08/09 season has just finished, and we're already getting the brochures ready for our 09/10 season. Today we had the photoshoot for the brochure. Mark Maziarz ... http://www.utahsymphony.org/blog/2008/11/07/behind-the-scenes-at-the-0910-utah-opera-photoshoot/