The pieces on this album are world premieres, commissioned for the Utah Symphony’s 75th anniversary. The works on this album are from composers Augusta Read Thomas, Nico Muhly, and Andrew Norman. The Utah Symphony became widely recognized as a leading ensemble after its inception in 1940. The symphony is under the direction of Thierry Fischer.

Reviews:

This excellent release presents three inviting, evocative new works commissioned and recorded to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Utah Symphony. Each piece is a unique, virtuosic essay for the ensemble, and Thierry Fischer leads his players with confidence through a daunting program, captured in stunning sound.

This is essential listening for fans of new American orchestral music. The triptych gives a fascinating cross-section of current trends, and Reference Recordings’ “Fresh!” moniker is an incredibly accurate description of the results. The notes on the pieces are by the composers themselves, and it is interesting to see how the prose and musical writing mirror each other. Full personnel listing of the wonderful Utah Symphony is included. Recorded sound is demonstration quality. Highly recommended!

– Concerto.net (Marcus Karl Maroney)

Dawn to Dust' is the apt title of this new release on the Reference Recordings Fresh! label of works commissioned from three leading American contemporary composers by the Utah Symphony as part of the orchestra's 75th anniversary celebrations during the 2015/2016 season. All three works here receive their world premier recordings in scrupulously prepared performances conducted by Thierry Fischer, the orchestra's Music Director.

As is to be expected from this audiophile label, the sound quality is awesome. The wide dynamic range of the recording allows both the subtlest string pianissimos and the loudest percussive climaxes to be reproduced with equal fidelity – every instrument clearly identified within a soundstage that possesses convincing width and depth. Though recorded live, audience noise is inaudible and applause has also been excised.

Exemplary notes on these compositions written by their respective composers complete this stimulating release.

– HRAudio.net (Graham Williams)

...Elie Siegmeister's Western Suite fits right in, being a thoroughly Copland-esque bit of Americana, albeit more heavily orchestrated and less rhythmically lithe, and its issue on a single disc probably missed most collectors. Abravanel's performance catches the music's liveliness...

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
reviewing the Siegmeister, previously reissued on Vox 5182

Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony Orchestra are joined by Grant Johannesen in this classic Vox recording of Grieg's Piano Concerto. The programme is completed with the overture In Autumn, the Two Lyric Pieces and the Old Norwegian Melody with Variations. Newly remastered from the original tapes.

Maurice Abravanel’s recordings of Grieg’s orchestral music with the Utah Symphony set the benchmark for these works in the mid-1970s. Newly remastered from the original tapes, these classic Vox recordings now sound better than ever.

The Elite Recordings for Vox by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be amongst the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings.

Edvard Grieg’s ambitiously scaled Symphonic Dances use a compelling selection of regional melodies and jaunty rhythms to brilliant effect. Elsewhere, his music ranges from the eloquent drama of Sigurd Jorsalfar to the deeply felt intimacy of the Two Elegiac Melodies and the popular Lyric Suite. These classic Vox recordings by Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony Orchestra were originally issued in 1976 and have been newly remastered from the original tapes.

The Elite Recordings for Vox by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be amongst the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings.

Learn more about the VOX Label, the Elite Recordings production team, and the reissuing of these classic Utah Symphony recordings on the Naxos Classical Spotlight Podcast!

Vox Audiophile Edition. Tchaikovsky’s unnumbered symphony Manfred is based on a poem by Byron and charts the tempestuous journey of Manfred towards the long-sought peace of death. The rousing Marche slave is a long-established concert favorite. The much-admired Tchaikovsky recordings by the Utah Symphony Orchestra and Maurice Abravanel were originally released on Vox in 1974 as quadraphonic LPs (QSVBX 5129 and QSVBX 5131). Remastered in high definition from the original source tapes.

Learn more about the VOX Label, the Elite Recordings production team, and the reissuing of these classic Utah Symphony recordings on the Naxos Classical Spotlight Podcast!

Vox Audiophile Edition. Symphony No. 6 in B minor ‘Pathétique’ is the culmination of Tchaikovsky’s symphonic canon. The fantasy-overture after Shakespeare’s Hamlet is an insightful character study. These Vox recordings by the Utah Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maurice Abravanel were originally released in 1974 as quadraphonic LPs (QSVBX 5129 and QSVBX 5131) and also appeared in 2001 as part of a complete Tchaikovsky symphonic edition on the Vox label (CD5X 3603). The Elite Recordings for Vox by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be among the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings. Remastered in high definition from the original source tapes.

REVIEW:

Along with a convincing performance of the symphony, Maurice Abravanel delivers a Hamlet that is lively and entertaining, with plenty of drama and flair. This is simply a very good, straightforward, well-played, excellently recorded example of the conductor's way with this music.

-- Classical Candor

Learn more about the VOX Label, the Elite Recordings production team, and the reissuing of these classic Utah Symphony recordings on the Naxos Classical Spotlight Podcast!

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony is paired here with his ‘noisy festival piece’, the 1812 Overture. These Vox Audiophile Edition recordings were originally released in 1974 as quadraphonic LPs and also appeared in 2001 as part of a complete Tchaikovsky symphonic edition on the Vox label. The Elite Recordings for Vox are considered by audiophiles to be among the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings.

REVIEW:

Abravanel brings a startlingly fresh and very American tone to the climaxes of the first movement. The string sound is well defined and powerful, and the brass playing in the return of the ‘fate motif’ of the second movement is exhilarating. In fact, the articulation of the opening is markedly more exacting than many other discs; more than anything, it is the intensity of the high points that give this recording such an energetic character. The companion piece, 1812 Overture, is performed with appropriate gusto here, but the real highlight of this disc is the impassioned string playing and vibrant conducting.

-- Classical Music Daily

Learn more about the VOX Label, the Elite Recordings production team, and the reissuing of these classic Utah Symphony recordings on the Naxos Classical Spotlight Podcast!

Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony Orchestra’s recordings of Tchaikovsky’s orchestral works, originally released on Vox in 1974, remain much admired to this day. These classic recordings of Symphony No. 4 and Romeo and Juliet make a welcome return to the catalogue, newly remastered in 192kHz / 24-bit high-definition.

REVIEWS:

These sonically remastered recordings are from Maurice Abravanel’s legendary Tchaikovsky Integrale. The remastering probably couldn’t make the violins sound much fuller and warmer, but the slight limitations as far as the Utah orchestra and the somewhat treble-emphasized recording, especially in the Fantasy Overture, can’t really detract from the quality of Abravanel’s delicate, spontaneous, elegant and tense interpretations. In the Fourth Symphony, Abravanel by no means overplays the darker side of the music, expressing fatum feelings as well as nostalgia.

-- Pizzicato

Although the Salt Lake Tabernacle was far from an ideal recording venue, its oval domed shape being highly reflective, the Elite Recordings team did their best to deaden the space. The end result is excellent, the orchestra sounding as though it is playing in a large hall, but nothing is blurred.

As for the performances, they are also excellent, Abravanel careful not to overplay the dramatic elements to the point where they start to sound hysterical. That is not to say the playing lacks energy, for it certainly does not. This is simply very good, straightforward, well-played, and excellently recorded Tchaikovsky. Good stuff.

-- Classical Candor (Karl Nehring)

Learn more about the VOX Label, the Elite Recordings production team, and the reissuing of these classic Utah Symphony recordings on the Naxos Classical Spotlight Podcast!

Vox Audiophile Edition. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3 is his only symphony in a major key and displays echoes of Mendelssohn; Schumann and Schubert. The tragic and tempestuous symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini is based on scenes from Dante’s Divine Comedy. The much-admired Tchaikovsky recordings by the Utah Symphony Orchestra and Maurice Abravanel were originally released on Vox in 1974 as quadraphonic LPs (QSVBX 5129 and QSVBX 5131). Remastered in high definition from the original source tapes.

Learn more about the VOX Label, the Elite Recordings production team, and the reissuing of these classic Utah Symphony recordings on the Naxos Classical Spotlight Podcast!

Vox Audiophile Edition. Tchaikovsky composed his First Symphony just after graduating from the St Petersburg Conservatory. The Second Symphony presents an infectious cheerfulness and imaginative skill in orchestration. These Vox recordings by the Utah Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maurice Abravanel were originally released in 1974 as quadraphonic LPs (QSVBX 5129 and QSVBX 5131) and also appeared in 2001 as part of a complete Tchaikovsky symphonic edition on the Vox label (CD5X 3603). The Elite Recordings for Vox by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be among the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings. Remastered in high definition from the original source tapes.