Classical Music
Pintscher returns to Utah Symphony with luxuriant Ravel and his own compelling concerto – Sep 26, 2026
Matthias Pintscher conducted the Utah Symphony Friday night at Abravanel Hall.
After a ten-year absence, composer and conductor Matthias Pintscher was back on the podium Friday night in Abravanel Hall leading the Utah Symphony in works by Johann Strauss the Younger and Maurice Ravel, as well as one of his own compositions, NUR, for piano and ensemble. Pianist Inon Barnatan was the featured soloist.
The word “nur” means “fire” in both Hebrew and Arabic. The work is obviously intended … Read More
Cellist Fung brings heartfelt Elgar to Utah Symphony’s season opener – Sep 19, 2026
Zlatomir Fung performed Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Utah Symphony Friday night at Abravanel Hall. Photo: Marco Borggreve
The Utah Symphony opened its 2026-27 season Friday night at Abravanel Hall with an evening of deeply emotional 20th-century works. Principal guest conductor Delyana Lazarova led the symphony in music of Samuel Barber and Sergei Prokofiev, with cellist Zlatomir Fung in the spotlight for the centerpiece, Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto.
The program opened with Barber’s Medea’s Dance of Vengeance, … Read More
Poschner closes Utah Symphony season with rich and eloquent Bruckner – May 23, 2026
Markus Poschner conducted the Utah Symphony in music of Bruckner and Saint-Saëns Friday night at Abravanel Hall. Photo: Seth Ian Mower
Markus Poschner, the Utah Symphony’s music director designate, is back in Abravanel Hall this weekend to close out the symphony’s season.
On Friday, the German-born conductor, who is an ardent advocate of Bruckner’s music, gave a spectacular account of the Austrian composer’s Symphony No. 4, “Romantic,” that captured the work’s scope and breadth. One … Read More
Soprano Katarina soars as a heart-breaking Violetta in Utah Opera’s “Traviata” – May 10, 2026
Lydia Katarina as Violetta and Isaac Hurtado as Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata at Utah Opera. Photo: Dana Sohm
Utah Opera is closing out its season with Verdi’s La Traviata. Saturday night’s opening performance in the Capitol Theatre was most notable forsoprano Lydia Katarina’s compelling performance as Violetta Valéry.
Dramatically, Katarina was utterly convincing as the doomed Violetta, charting the character’s arc from the carefree, live-for-the-moment courtesan, to a woman deeply in love, and lastly to a shell of her … Read More
Ives provides the highlight in Robertson’s American program with Utah Symphony – May 02, 2026
Gretchen Menn was the guitar soloist in Steven Mackey’s Aluminum Flowers, performed with the Utah Symphony Friday night.
Creative partner David Robertson led the Utah Symphony Friday night in a program of American music featuring works by Aaron Copland, Steven Mackey and Charles Ives.
The highlight of the concert is Ives’ Symphony No. 2. Written between 1897 and 1902, and revised in 1909, the work exemplifies Ives’ eclectic approach to classical music. Within … Read More
Conductor, soloists make impressive debuts in Utah Symphony’s “Carmina Burana” – Apr 11, 2026
Tianyi Lu conducted the Utah Symphony and Chorus in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana Friday night at Abravanel Hall. Photo: Marco Borggreve
Conductor Tianyi Lu made an auspicious Abravanel Hall debut Friday night, leading the Utah Symphony and Chorus in a luminous account of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.
The German composer’s large scale cantata is a work of primal, visceral energy, unbridled emotional intensity and rhythmic drive.
Carmina Burana has appeared with some regularity on the symphony’s programs. And … Read More
Utah Symphony mixes cello rarities with colorful showpieces – Mar 28, 2026
David Danzmayr conducted the Utah Symphony Friday night at Abravanel Hall. Photo: Victoria H. Hills
Conductor David Danzmayr is once again back on the podium in Abravanel Hall. This weekend he leads the Utah Symphony in two large-scale works: the Suite from Richard Strauss’s opera Der Rosenkavalier and Respighi’s tone poem The Pines of Rome.
At Friday’s concert, the Austrian-born conductor gave a richly textured and rhythmically engaging reading of the suite that captured the late romantic sensibilities of Strauss’s … Read More
Utah Opera serves up a fine cast, clever updating with “Elixir of Love” – Mar 08, 2026
Katrina Galka and Daniel O’Hearn star in Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love at Utah Opera. Photo; Dana Sohm
Utah Opera’s production of Donizetti’s two-act comedy The Elixir of Love, which opened Saturday night,, is a clever re-imagining that transports the setting from early 19th century Italy to the orange groves of Southern California a century later.
Oftentimes moving an opera to a different locale and time period fails miserably. But this new staging — premiered at Minnesota Opera in … Read More
A pair of Utah Symphony debuts deliver vibrant Mendelssohn, Debussy – Feb 28, 2026
Nicholas Carter conducted the Utah Symphony in music of Bax, Mendelssohn and Debussy Friday night at Abravanel Hall. Photo: Douglas W. Carter
This weekend, two newcomers to the Abravanel Hall stage made impressive Utah Symphony debuts. On Friday evening, pianist Nelson Goerner gave an electrifying reading of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and conductor Nicholas Carter led the orchestra in a vibrant account of Debussy’s La mer.
Mendelssohn’s brief 20-minute concerto opens with fiery, romantic passion. The Argentinean-born pianist put … Read More
Adkins shines with Adams in Utah Symphony’s American program – Feb 21, 2026
Madeline Adkins performed John Adams’ Violin Concerto with David Robertson and the Utah Symphony Friday night at Abravanel Hall. Photo: Seth Ian Mower
David Robertson, the Utah Symphony’s creative partner, led the orchestra in an all-American program Friday night at Abravanel Hall. The program featured works by Christopher Rouse, John Adams, Elliott Carter and Roy Harris, with concertmaster Madeline Adkins soloing in Adams’ Violin Concerto.
Adkins is a marvelous violinist and it’s always a treat to see her in … Read More
