The Utah Symphony became recognized as a leading American ensemble largely through the efforts of Maurice Abravanel, its Music Director from 1947 to 1979. During his tenure, the orchestra undertook four international tours, released over 100 recordings and developed an extensive music education program.
Included in the Utah Symphony’s discography with Abravanel are première recordings of works by Honegger, Milhaud, Rorem, Satie, Schuman, and Varèse. A pioneering cycle of Mahler Symphonies was recorded between 1963-1974 which included the first commercial stereo recordings of the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies. The Utah Symphony’s recordings of Mahler’s symphonies with Maurice Abravanel were the first complete cycle recorded by an American orchestra (Vanguard). Honors for Abravanel’s Mahler recordings with the orchestra include the “Mahler Medal of Honor” from the Bruckner Society of America (1965) and the International Gustav Mahler Society award for “Best Mahler Recording” (Fifth Symphony, 1975). As a result of his Mahler recordings with the Utah Symphony, Abravanel was made an honorary member of the International Mahler Society of Vienna (1966). Other distinguished recordings include cycles of symphonies by Brahms and Sibelius, and the complete orchestral works of Tchaikovsky.
Touring played a significant role in Abravanel’s legacy with the orchestra. In the years between 1966-1977, they traveled to 16 countries throughout Europe, Great Britain, Central and South America, making appearances at the Athens Festival (1966, 1977), the Berlin Festival (1966) and the inaugural Brucknerfest (Linz, 1977). In the U.S., they made Carnegie Hall appearances in 1966, 1971, 1975 and their Kennedy Center debut in 1975. Numerous domestic tours took the orchestra across the U.S., including performances in the Midwest and Great Plains states, the Hawaiian and Virgin Islands and all the major cities of the west coast.
As early as 1947, the Utah Symphony’s regional tours and education programs had garnered enough national interest to be featured in the New York Times. During Abravanel’s tenure, the orchestra’s music education program grew into one of the most extensive arts education programs in the region. Educational concerts were given on orchestra tours across the Intermountain West and at home in the Salt Lake Valley, enriching the lives of generations of school children. For his work with the Utah Symphony, Abravanel received the “National Medal of Arts” from President Bush in 1991.
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