Markus Poschner Conducts Strauss' Alpine Symphony

Markus Poschner takes the podium at Maurice Abravanel Hall on Friday, May 28, and Saturday, May 29, 2027, leading the Utah Symphony through Richard Strauss' An Alpine Symphony. It's a massive piece of music, an epic 22-part adventure that follows a full day in the Alps—from the darkness and sunrise of the morning, up to the summit, through a thunderstorm, and back down to sunset and night. It's built for an orchestra of enormous proportions, and Strauss doesn't stop at the instruments: he brings in bird calls, cowbells, thunder sheets, and an on-stage wind machine to put you right in the middle of it.

Sharing the bill is soprano Erica Eloff, who performs Strauss' Four Last Songs. Where the symphony is a wide-screen journey, the songs are a luminous reflection on mortality. The two works together take on a different dimension: both contemplate endings, but both find beauty in the fullness of the journey. 'Im Abendrot' is regarded as a crown jewel of the soprano repertoire, and it's the heart of that half of the program.

There's something especially fitting about hearing a mountain symphony in a mountain city, and if you want a bit more context before the music starts, there's a pre-concert chat with the guest artists and symphony musicians 45 minutes before each performance in the First Tier Room. It's a good way to get your bearings before the first note.

The symphony plays Friday, May 28, at 7:30 PM and Saturday, May 29, at 5:30 PM at Maurice Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101.