Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1

Last night I went to my first Utah Symphony concert of the 2025-2026 season because the program featured one of my favorite composers (Rachmaninoff) and one of my favorite guest conductors (David Robertson).  I had a wonderful time and I even saw the cute little ladies I used to sit by when I subscribed to the Masterworks series (they told me they missed me).  The orchestra began with Memoriale by Pierre Boulez with a small chamber group consisting of three violins, two violas, a cello, two horns, and a solo flute.  This piece originally began as a tribute to Igor Stravinsky but evolved into one for Lawrence Beauregard, the principal flutist of a chamber group founded by Boulez who died at age 28.  I really liked all of the "special effects" by the flute (performed by Utah Symphony principal flutist Mercedes Smith) and the way the rest of the instruments interacted with it.  Next came Anemology (Saxophone Concerto) by Steven Mackey, which was written for last night's soloist Timothy McAllister.  Mackey was there to introduce the piece and he explained that the saxophone is the wind (anemology is the study of air movement) and the rest of the orchestra is the landscape that is animated by its movement.  It is rare to have a saxophone in a classical piece and I really enjoyed the integration of a rock and blues sound.  I especially loved the second movement, which mimicked the sound of wind through trees, because it featured lots of fun percussion instruments such as wind chimes and rain sticks.  McAllister was fun to watch because he was incredibly animated.  After the intermission, the orchestra performed Symphony No. 1 by Sergei Rachmaninoff.  I love Rachmaninoff because I think his music is so dramatic and I was really excited to hear this particular piece because I had never heard it live before (this was its first ever performance by the Utah Symphony).  The theme played by the brass at the end of the first movement is absolutely thrilling, the melody played by the clarinets in the third movement is beautiful, and the theme played by the strings is powerfully emphasized by the brass and percussion (I loved the gong) in the fourth movement.  It was an amazing performance!  Robertson is so personable and engaging on the podium and he made me laugh when he told the crowd that the orchestra was still going to perform the last movement when they applauded after the third one.  This was a great concert and I recommend getting a ticket for tonight's performance of the same program (go here).