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Show Wednesday, August 1 1 ,1 976 ESTHER Pages 1 ABRAVENEL TURNS 'BALANCE OF TRADE DEFICIT' INTO BIG PLUS FOR UTAH SYMPHONY A musical "balance of trade deficit" brought the Greek -born and - Swiss educated Maestro Maurice Abra venel to the Utah Symphony in 194". to mend , it, strengthen it. anji tran sform it from a mediocre community orchestra into one of the nation's best An orchestra founded on importing im-porting musicians turned home for its players, and began exporting music Now. even the Maestro himself calls Utah home ; Under Abra vane is leadership, the Symphony's musical ambassadorship for Utah and for the United States has extended to South America, Kurope and Kngland. and it continues through the orchestra's wide ranging recordings of classical and contemporary symphonic music ' 1 Anton '. I'edcrsen probably never dreamed of such tours in 1892 when, he conducted Utah's first full orchestra in a single concert in the old Salt Like Theater Nor did his successors, who kept the musical flame flickering with a . series of aniatuer community com-munity orchestras mly in the last :i 'years. 2H of them under Maestro Abravanel's leadership, have Utah musician discovered the aura and awesome responsibilities of in tcrnational prominence With the slate's com mitment in 1945 to build a professional orchestra came the need for musicians of high caliber. uiu the misap prehansion that "high caliber'' ment "imported" Werner .lanssen of Califor nia. after a year as the Symphony's first conductor wanted 25 more musicians from out-of-state. His successor. suc-cessor. Maestro 'Abravanel. wanted as few as possible. "I see no reason for importing players.", he said, "if someone just as good is available here " 1 Someone just as good was -As Reginald Beales. leader of a Utah orchestra founded through the WPA in the 1930 s and Haas Heniol. conductor in the war years! could testify. Utah musical talent alinunded Unfortunately, at least in the professional orchestras infancy. . Utah money didn't.. . ".:' Undaunted,, Maestro Abravanel unveiled his orchestra or-chestra November B. 1947 in the old Masonic Temple in Salt 1-ike City His program was Hevthoven's "Krotica" Symphony, "on Juan'.' by Kichard Straus. Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings ' and the overture to Wagner's "Die Meister-singer Meister-singer "' : The orchestra followed up on November 22 with the world premier of Utah composer Ixtov Kobertson's i 'Punch and Judy'.', Overture.' , with symphonies by Haydn and Hrahms and Semtana's "Moldau " That musical variety, the Maestro's fearlessness in presenting contemporary as' well as classical symphony music. and the orchestra V con-fidence con-fidence in all-orchestral . concerts remain Utah v Symphony hallmark The public responded w armly . but not with suf . ficient heat to melt a pon ' dermis debt precipitated by the orchestras professional' 'beginnings'-'-" U.e spi I el burgeoning ticket sales late I 'in the first season and earlv i in the second, a proposed broadcast series and relief money from the Utah Legislature fell through, and the Symphony headed for crisis Even then, in the throes of the 1949 squeeze that left both conductor and orchestra without salary for almost a month, the Utah Symphony showed its commitment to two more central concepts top guest artists, and a regional'' nature "that demanded travel throughout the Intermountain West, to reach audiences never before exposed to first rate symphonic sym-phonic music Violinist Isaac Stern appeared as soloist, the ensemble traveled to I'ocatello. Idaho, in its first out-of-state performance. Liquidation proceedings were set for January 29? 1949 They were never initated On that day Abravanel asked the orchestra to work for nothing, if need be. until the coffers were lined with sufficient capital They accepted unanimously When the governor vetoed a symphony appropriation that had passed the Utah legislature. Mrs John M Wallace Symphony president and her husband advanced Slo.ooti to keep the orchestra alive That sum. and an engagement on the NBC series "Pioneers 'of Music": turned the tide By the following fall, after the l.DS Church agreed to provide the acoustically brilliant Salt Iike Tabernacle for season' concerts, the Symphony had firmly established itself as a symbol of Mali's artistic growth The Symphony's quality soon attracted great guest artists like pianist Arthur Rubinstein, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky. Pianist Valdimir Horowitz, tenor Jan Peerce. and violinist Jascha Heifetz Throughout the seasons, though it was the quality of the Symphony itself, and its increase in number of concerts that won the greatest support The orchestra expanded its tour program in the 1953-34 season, reaching Logan, and )gden w hich has its own subscription, series'. Cedar City, and Kphriam Today Abravanel and the Sym phony perform throughout the state, for school children and the public in towns tucked in the remote Utah mountains, in Montana and Idaho. Washington and Colorado, California and ' Wyoming. Nevada. New Mexico and Arizona And. of course, the ensemble finds new audiences in great concert . halls like Kennedy Center. Carnegie Hall and London's Roval . Festival Hall There is more to a season than even subscription concerts or tours ' Maestrt! Abravanel took the mitative in bonding the Utah Sym phony and Willan Chnstensen's I tab Theatei Ballet now Ballet West lo a Ch n st ma s p r od uc 1 1 o i of "The Nutcracker." a tradition that endures into its 21st year under the same leadership i The orchestra also joins the University of Utah opera company in such productions as "The Magic Flute" and -The Marriage of Figaro with the first such union in 19V. .. '. ' ' ; 11 The l's brought.Maestro. '' cont. on' pg 1 fci m 2 ME w emm NEW JUPITER BOWU $1 65 MID-WEEK SEASON PASS (limited to 1000) Excludes holidays, ffanksgivihg, Dec. 18-Jan. 2, Lincoln's Birthday, Bir-thday, and Washington's Birhtday. $250 FULL UNLIMITED PASS Both passes include night skiing. $25 down-payments down-payments now being accepted at the golf course" pro shop. Reserve your pass through Dec. 4! Reserve now and feel our rising tide all winter! i A "" " i 1 1 it -JZ-1 jil - vJCL " li.t.. in ' m m 11 . w'") a ' - k , - - 1 V. 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