This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

An ambitious Saint-Saëns recording project, a new film series, a centennial salute to Leonard Bernstein and visits from several superstars are among the highlights of the Utah Symphony's 2017-18 season.

The orchestra, led by music director Thierry Fischer, will record all five of Saint-Saëns' symphonies live for release on the Hyperion label. The project marks the first Saint-Saëns symphony cycle to be recorded by an American orchestra. Also included on the recordings will be shorter works such as "Danse macabre" and "Carnival of the Animals."

Symphonic cycles have been a hallmark of Fischer's tenure here, but the conductor said he hadn't necessarily intended to keep highlighting single composers after the orchestra completed its Mahler project last season. (In the future, he said, look for philosophical or artistic themes instead; he listed revolution, utopia and music written for the Ballets Russes as hypothetical examples.) Even so, the contract with Hyperion was a "fantastic opportunity." Fischer is enthusiastic about recording because not only does it raise the orchestra's international stature and secure a little spot in history, it raises the level of "concentration, control and commitment" from the players. "Through the recordings we've done, we can objectively say the orchestra is different," he said.

The upcoming season also will include appearances by soprano Renée Fleming (in a season-opening gala that also marks the 40th anniversary of Utah Opera, which merged with the Utah Symphony in 2002); violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist Stephen Hough, each appearing in Abravanel Hall for the first time since 2012; and Broadway heavyweights Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Pianist Conrad Tao, a frequent guest of the Utah Symphony, will be artist-in-residence, soloing on two separate programs. Works marking the Bernstein centennial include his Symphony No. 2 ("Age of Anxiety") and "Chichester Psalms"; the latter is one of the major choral works featured on the upcoming season, along with Mozart's great C Minor Mass and Stravinsky's "Symphony of Psalms."

Members of the Utah Symphony also will feature prominently with solos on a handful of concerts, led by concertmaster Madeline Adkins' performance of the Korngold Violin Concerto on the season finale.

Inspired by audience response to three sold-out screenings of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" with live orchestra accompaniment over the recent winter holidays, the orchestra has added a Films in Concert series of four disparate films, including the second "Potter" film, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," and the first-ever presentation of "High Noon" with live performance of the Dimitri Tiomkin score. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" round out the series.

Technology has made such performances much easier and less expensive in the past few years, said Utah Symphony | Utah Opera president and CEO Paul Meecham, noting that the Utah Symphony is one of the first orchestras to present a full-fledged film series as part of the regular season.

"The priority is choosing films that have great scores," Meecham said, adding that with the works of Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner, Ennio Morricone, Elmer Bernstein and others yet untouched — not to mention six more "Harry Potter" films — this could be a long-running series.

Planning the orchestra's season is an 18-month process. "You first have to operate from 30,000 feet," Meecham said. "What are some of the big-picture themes and messages you want to get across?"

One of the first questions on the scheduling agenda, artistic-planning VP Toby Tolokan said, is "How do we fit Thierry's 12 weeks into the season between Labor Day and Memorial Day, and of course the operas in October, January, March and May?" After that, guest soloists and conductors are scheduled. Fischer, Tolokan and Meecham are the principal decisionmakers, though other staff members also have input. "It's a long dance of moving it all around and making it fit," Tolokan said.

"Sometimes there are competing priorities. There's a healthy bit of tension between what we artistically want and what's financially possible," Meecham said, adding, "Toby is terrific at managing his budget."

Because opera involves more moving parts, Utah Opera artistic director Christopher McBeth said he keeps a 10-year map, with plans becoming set in stone about two years out. He strives for a balance among box-office blockbusters, such as "La bohème"; operas the average listener may have heard of, even if the tunes don't spring to mind, such as "Lucia di Lammermoor"; and operas he calls "discovery works," such as "Moby-Dick."

On the symphony side, "We're very careful not to repeat ourselves from a repertoire point of view," Meecham said. "We try to highlight pieces that have not been done in a long time. It's very tempting to program a lot of audience favorites, but there's only so much mac and cheese you can eat. … Great musicians like to be challenged, to push themselves and do new things." To that end and because, as Fischer said, "the orchestra is not a museum only," the Utah Symphony has been commissioning at least one new work every season since Fischer was hired in 2009. This year, that will be "Reflections / Reflets III" by French spectral composer Tristan Murail.

A similar balance is struck between presenting household names such as Fleming and McDonald — with the hope that ticket sales will cover these artists' fees — and catching rising stars. Tolokan and Fischer take pride in pointing out the musicians, such as conductor Kazuki Yamada, who have made their U.S. debuts in Abravanel Hall. (Going back a few years more, Hilary Hahn played one of her first orchestra gigs here at age 13 and has returned several times since.) "Because we're not on the coasts, we have to nurture those relationships, perhaps, a little earlier," Meecham said. "Toby does an excellent job of sourcing up-and-coming people." He and Tolokan cited conductor Karina Canellakis and pianist Alexandra Dariescu, who will be here in April, as two such artists to watch.

Regardless of the star power of the soloist or the familiarity of the repertoire, Fischer's goal is to make music at a level "where the orchestra is the attraction for itself. Now the audience is absolutely guaranteed that whatever is on the program … whether you like it or don't, it's so pure, so beautiful that we're really, really happy and proud of it."

Symphony season

For season ticket information, visit http://www.utahsymphony.org . See the full season list here.