Sinfonia Salt Lake Plays an Exquisite Beethoven
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Schumann, anyone?
Please enjoy this video of my colleague and our excellent orchestra performing the Schumann Cello concerto, op. 129 with the Utah Philharmonia.
University of Utah, Philharmonia, Robert Baldwin, conductor
Michael Kaufman, cello soloist
Recorded 11/19/2025
Salt Lake Symphony 2025-2026 Season Announcement
Salt Lake Symphony
Robert Baldwin, Music Director and Conductor
2025-2026 Season
The Golden Ticket: Our 50th Anniversary Season!
September 27, 2025. 50 Years and Counting! David Fox, organ
- Andrew Maxfield: World Premiere commission to celebrate SLS’s 50th
- George Gershwin: An American in Paris
- Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, op. 78 “Organ Symphony”
November 8, 2025 Rediscovering Tchaikovsky, Andrew Staupe, piano
- Peter Tchaikovsky: Polonaise from “Eugene Onegin”
- Peter Tchaikovsky: Concert Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra in G major, op. 56
- Peter Tchaikovsky: November
- Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 1 in G minor, op. 13 “Winter Daydreams”
Amahl (and Friends) with U Opera TENTATIVE.
December 13, 2025 Holly-Jolly Mixups: Holiday Family Concert
- James Horner, arr. Brubaker: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- Danny Elfman: Selections from The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Harold Arlen, arr. Sayre: The Wizard of Oz Selections
- Stephen Schwartz, arr. Ricketts: Selections from Wicked
- Bill Holcombe: The Night Before Christmas
- John Williams: Flight to Neverland from “Hook”
- James Stephenson: A Holly Jolly Sing-Along
January 17, 2026 Summer Arts Winners/Piano Concertos
February 14, 2026: Vienna Ball
March 14, 2026, Celebration in Sound
- Ottorino Resighi: Gli ucelli (The Birds)
- Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
April 11, 2026, Teachers and Students. Leon Chodos, contrabassoon; Invited side-by-side high school students
- Arturo Marquez: Danzon No. 2 (with side-by-side players)
- Victor Bruns: Concerto for Contrabassoon and Orchestra
- Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1, op. 10
May 16, 2026 Signature Sounds
- Florence Price: Mississippi River Suite
- Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations, op. 36
Late June 2026, Dates TBA: SLS Conductor’s Workshop
All concerts at 7:30 p.m. in Libby Gardner Concert Hall
The Saddest Moment in Music
Time for our production of Puccini’s La Bohème to start up with the University of Utah Opera and Utah Philharmonia, so naturally, the tunes are running through my head non-stop. This music has all the feels, and is deservedly one of the top operatic compositions of all time. Yet, the moment, mere seconds before the end of the opera, destroys me every time. It is a masterpiece of grief, as expressed through music, and a masterclass in orchestration and dramatic placement.
Here’s a brief, three-line poem I composed while studying the score this week:
Achingly beautiful
Tragically gorgeous
The saddest moment in opera
Performances are April 18 and 19 at Kingsbury Hall on the University of Utah Campus. Bring your Kleenex!
Copyright, 2025, Robert Baldwin, Before the Downbeat
Spirit of Spring with the Salt Lake Symphony
Spirit of Spring
Saturday March 15 @ 7:30 pm
Libby Gardner Concert Hall. Tickets: https://saltlakesymphony.org/event/spirit-of-spring/#tribe-tickets__tickets-form
Each year, we invite able young musicians to participate our annual side-by-side event. This year, our young colleagues will join us to perform Alexander Borodin’s powerful Polovtsian Dances. The spirit of music continues throughout the program, with a performance of American composer Augusta Read Thomas’s reflective Violin Concerto, No. 1, “Spirit Musings.” Soloist Hasse Borup is known for his championing of new music and exciting projects. We will close with Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony, a tour de force for every section of the orchestra and one of Beethoven’s tightest compositions
- Alexander Borodin: Polovstian Dances from Prince Igor
- Augusta Reed Thomas: Violin Concerto No.1,”Spirit Musings”
- Beethoven, Symphony No. 4 in Bb Major, Op. 60
An American Pioneer
The Utah Phil is sounding fantastic on the Amy Beach Gaelic Symphony and I am having a blast revisiting this fine work of an important American artist with our talented, enthusiastic orchestra. I last conducted it 11 years ago. Back then, I remember being confused, and a little frustrated, with all the edits that other people had made while trying to “fix” the work. Versions abound with random assumptions: cuts, rewrites, etc. While certainly well intended, I struggled to find justification or methodology for these edits.
As with every piece of music, there are questions and inconsistencies that must be addressed. But here’s the thing: I’ve concluded this piece, more of less, is perfectly fine as it stands. It needs no fixing, cuts, or rewrites. My job as a conductor (e.g. presenter and interpreter of the music) is to present the score, finding ways to make it work. This might include addressing inconsistencies, balances, interpreting articulation marks, or even correcting ambiguous printing errors. But it is always my hope to honor the composer’s original intent. That is part of the responsibility I’ve been granted as a conductor. Some of this is working with the inherent struggle and, at times, confusion found in the score. Decisions must be made, but rarely should it involve recomposing (decomposing) what is already created.
I will add that it is unfortunate that editing and rewriting of Amy Beach’s music was, until recently, more accepted than the music of her male contemporaries, such as MacDowell, etc. (I don’t think I need comment on why that has happened historically). What matters is what we do from this point forward. I am happy the Phil is honoring the legacy of Amy Beach’s music and am confident we will present a true reading of this exciting work on March 6. And as I said, they are sounding terrific.
Copyright, 2025. Robert Baldwin, Before the Downbeat
Concert info:
University of Utah Philharmonia: American Pioneers, A Celebration of Women’s History Month
March 6, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
Libby Gardner Concert Hall
American Pioneers: A Concert Celebrating Women’s History Month
I’m looking forward to conducting a wonderful and important program with the Utah Phil on March 6, a concert featuring new and historic works celebrating Women’s History Month in the U.S.A. Music includes Amy Beach’s Symphony in E Minor “Gaelic”, Jessica Rudman’s Still I Rise, and Stacy Garrop’s The Battle for the Ballot. Our friend and colleague, Julie Wright Costa, will serve as narrator.
Concert Date: March 6, 2025, 7:30 p.m. at Libby Gardner Concert Hall
Ticket prices:
Adult: $13.50
Youth (6-18): Free
ARTSPASS: Free
Program Notes:
Still I Rise! (composed by Jessica Rudman)
Still I Rise! is named after Maya Angelou’s eponymous poem. Her words express a profound sentiment of perseverance: they reflect not only surviving hardships but coming out of them with one’s spirit intact. The narrator’s sassiness, quirky humor, and energy are manifested in the music’s grooves, flirty lines, and vibrant colors. Angelou’s theme of endurance is expressed as the main motive, or “protagonist,” travels through periods of confidence, adversity, manic excitement, questioning, and catharsis. Even when the identity of the main motive is almost obliterated by the heavy, static chords of the climax, it emerges to close the piece with a wink and a flourish —always rising again.
– notes by Jessica Rudman
Battle for the Ballot (composed by Stacy Garrop)
Democracy in the United States has always been a messy process that is in a constant state of flux. When the nation’s Constitution was penned, the framers of the document didn’t differentiate voting rights between men and women. This led to various interpretations in the thirteen original colonies. For instance, while most of the colonies passed state laws that stipulated only a male adult who possessed property worth fifty pounds to vote, New Jersey’s laws allowed women to vote between 1776 and 1807, after which they were excluded. Women weren’t the only disenfranchised party in these states – slaves, men of particular religions, and men too poor to own the requisite amount of land were excluded as well. As the country progressed, wording was added to many states’ voting laws to ensure that white men (and a slim grouping at that) were the sole possessors of the vote.
Women’s inability to vote carried significant consequences. They paid taxes with no legal voice in crafting the laws of the land (i.e. taxation without representation). They were barred from becoming politicians, formulating laws, and serving on juries. If a woman got married, she immediately lost custody of her wages, children, possessions, and property. Women grew progressively frustrated by these circumstances and began to organize. The first women’s rights convention was held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, and officially launched the beginning of the women’s Suffrage movement. While additional conventions were held over the next several years, forward progress was halted during the Civil War (1861-1865), after which the cause was taken up again. Starting in the late 1860s, various Suffrage organizations formed, fell apart, and re-formed in pursuit of rallying women and men to the cause. Black female Suffragists were not treated well by many of their white counterparts; as a result, they created organizations and clubs of their own. Even when the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in 1919 and ratified in 1920, many states immediately passed laws that blocked Black women from voting by one means or another; this situation wasn’t rectified until Congress passed the 1965 Voting Rights Act which federally protected all citizen’s right to vote and put an end to discriminatory practices throughout the country. Nonetheless, we still witness today how various parts of our nation try new methods to disenfranchise Black women and men from voting. For instance, in June 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court removed a significant section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act which enabled especially southern states to once again seek to disenfranchise primarily Black voters because they are no longer required to get the approval of the Justice Department when revising voting laws in their states. Even more recently, the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election brought a fresh wave of attacks on voting rights in states all around the country. Not only is democracy a messy process, but it is something we must be vigilant in safekeeping for all of our citizens.
The Battle for the Ballot features the voices of seven Suffragists, four of whom are Black (Carrie W. Clifford, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Adella Hunt Logan, and Mary Church Terrell) and three of whom are white (Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, and Carrie Chapman Catt). I excerpted lines from their speeches and writings, then interwove these lines together to form a single narrative that follows their reasoning for fighting so hard for the right to vote.
Commissioned by the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Music Director & Conductor Cristian Măcelaru, with generous support from JoAnn Close and Michael Good, The Battle for the Ballot commemorates the centenary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920 granting women the right to vote.
–notes by Stacy Garrop
Symphony in E Minor, “Gaelic Symphony” (composed by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach)
Being a nation of immigrants, Americans have long been interested in finding their roots. While this is sometimes seen as a hobby and family pastime, many attempts have been made over the 250+ years of our country’s existence to define our background and roots through artistic expression. The great Czech composer, Antonin Dvorak, suggested as much during his residency in New York in 1893, and his advice undoubtedly influenced a young Amy Beach, eager to try her hand at symphonic composition. Instead of native Indian or Black music as suggested by Dvorak, Beach chose the music of her ancestry, and that of many in the New England area of the time, namely the music of Ireland and Scotland. Beach quoted and used for inspiration several English, Irish, and Scottish melodies for her work, even going so far as giving the work a subtitle herself: ‘Gaelic.’
Beach’s Gaelic Symphony is the first known symphonic work written by an American woman. The work was so well received, she was invited into the circle of composers known as the “Second New England School,” giving her music creditability as among the important American music of the day. Senior member of the group, George Chadwick, remarked after hearing the symphony: “…I always feel a thrill of pride myself whenever I hear a fine work by any of us, and as such you will have to be counted in, whether you will or not—one of the boys.”
The work is structured in 4 movements, much as would a symphony by Brahms or Dvorak. Although it follows the conventions of the Germanic symphony tradition, Beach infuses many “Celtic” elements into the works, reinforcing her idea at the time that : “[w]e of the North should be far more likely to be influenced by old English, Scotch or Irish songs, inherited with our literature from our ancestors.” Beach’s accomplishment with the Gaelic Symphony marks her as one of the prominent female composers of her era and an American music pioneer.
–notes by Robert Baldwin
Photo: Amy Beach: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Beach#/media/File:Amy_Beach_01.jpg
Music, Light and Sharing our Wounds
Offered openly, in case this helps anyone.
Two nights ago, on the eve of the election, I had a strange dream in which I was conducting a rehearsal of Mahler with a huge orchestra. I’m not sure “which” Mahler, or which orchestra, but it was unmistakenly Mahlerian in all its difficulty, angst, anxiety, outbursts, and nostalgia. Somewhat unnervingly, I began seeing that every member of the orchestra had visible wounds that I had not noticed before they started playing. Some were old scars, some were minor cuts; others had gaping injuries that appeared to require medical attention. Some had a single visible trauma, others had many, all over their bodies. For some reason (it was a dream, after all), I kept conducting, and no one allowed their pains to stop them from playing beautifully. When it was time for a break, I approached a few players to ask if they were ok. All assured me that they were fine to continue and, in fact, HAD to keep going as a matter of survival.
I was about to leave and take my break when several musicians said, “Wait, what about YOUR injuries?” It was then that I noticed that I too was displaying various scars and open wounds, some of which I had made rather feeble efforts to hide from the orchestra. It was at that moment that I began waking up, but not before the realization that our vulnerabilities are the key to making connections with others.
We all carry injuries. Some are recent, others long past. Some we choose to display; some we hide. But as musicians (artists), we must work with these in ways to express that which reaches others on a different level, beyond the written notes and sound waves. Rather than hide or use our hurts as an excuse to retract from the world, we can utilize them to connect to others with a richer purpose, delivering the message of something bigger, and better than ourselves.
In retrospect, and besides the rather mythopoetic imagery, this dream likely reflected my anxiety about the coming election results, which came to fruition that very evening. Yet I also had to run a rehearsal (Bizet, not Mahler), and needed to continue that activity into today and beyond. We have to keep going to heal each other.
So, I honor your wounds, and I hope you see how I may decide to use mine to help unite us together in a singular purpose. Tonight, the Campus Symphony played the most beautiful ending of Humperdink’s Dream Pantomime. It was a joy to hear the music emanating from each individual and combining in a cohesive, meaningful sound. It held promise for the concert in two weeks, and indeed for the world each of us inhabits.
I continue to believe in the power of music, even when faced with the direst of situations. Our trials and travails can also create light. Let’s create more of it together. It is one of the few things we can control and choose to open the world and heal the collective wounds we experience.
Copyright 2024, Robert Baldwin, Before the Downbeat Blog
Schumann 4 Performance – Salt Lake Symphony
Pleased to share our performance of Schumann’s 4th Symphony from April 2024. The Salt Lake Symphony is an incredible collection of musicians who are the most dedicated I’ve ever worked with. I’m honored to have served as their conductor for the past 20 years.
Founded in 1976, the Salt Lake Symphony is one of the area’s most highly respected volunteer-driven orchestras. The Salt Lake Symphony is a non-profit organization dedicated to performing quality classical music concerts for the Wasatch Front community. The Symphony performs around 15 concerts per year. The approximately seventy-five hard-working musicians of the SLS volunteer roughly 10,000 hours annually to accomplish this goal. Although the members of the Salt Lake Symphony come from all walks of life and frequently work full-time in other professions, they hold one thing in common: They play for the love and passion of music. Their dedication as volunteers sets them apart and creates a unique bond. https://saltlakesymphony.org/
Salt Lake Symphony 2024-2025 Season Announced!
It is with great excitement that we announce plans for the 2024-2025 Concert Season. I have titled the season: “Expect the Unexpected.” I think you’ll see why as you scroll through the season.
Besides the concert dates, soloists and music, you will see the instrumentation list as well as the designation (OC). This represents an orchestra choice piece, either submitted to the online form or from the many personal conversations we might have about music. I was pleased to be able to include 8 pieces, all of them major orchestral works, and all from orchestra player recommendations.
A few other things to note (I’ll explain this further at rehearsal for the players). Several of our concerts will be “outside the box,” and are intriguing alternatives to the average concert. The November concert will be an exploration of Shakespeare and music, with guest actors from the UofU Actor Training Program and SLC’s own Utopia Early Music providing context for the evening of orchestral music inspired by Shakespeare, featuring music of the era as well as famous Shakespeare scenes. In December, Jim Bobick (our original operatic Scrooge) will narrate a new story that I am writing for Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. We will make it fun, educational, slightly updated, and full of holiday cheer. The final “outside the expectations” concert will be our May Concert, an exploration of sound and silence. Our friend Phillip Bimstein will host the evening, and our very own Charlotte Bell will transform the pre-concert talk into a meditation and listening workshop. Gorecki’s powerful Symphony no. 3 will provide the main sonic exploration of the evening, a work I have hoped to conduct for a long time.
A lot of great repertoire awaits! We will start with Mahler and Pärt, and will visit Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Handel, Borodin, Beethoven, Ravel, Rachmaninov and Sibelius and others along the way. Two distinguished soloists will be playing works by contemporary female composers, the latter being a world premiere with Utah ties to both soloist and subject matter. Our friends the SummerArts Piano Winners, Viennese Ballroom Dancers, soprano Melissa Heath, and the traditional Side-By-Side High School Musicians will also make their expected appearances, providing legacy to this new feel of the season.
But BEFORE all that, we have a summer concert and workshop, too! The SLS will be the ensemble in residence for the inaugural Interpret, Inspire Improvise! A Conductors Workshop to be held at the U. Save the dates if you are a string player, oboist, bassoonist, hornist, trumpeter or timpanist! June 28-30. Sessions will take place at Libby, with a free concert on Sunday, June 30 at Canyon Rim Park.
Looking forward!
Salt Lake Symphony 2024-25 Season: Expect the Unexpected
(OC = Orchestra Choice, requested repertoire)
SLS Summer 2024
Late June 2024 SLS Summer Conductors Workshop and Summer Park Concert
(Outdoor concert venue yet to be booked)
17’ Handel: Royal Fireworks 0303-3300-tmp-str
30’ Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings (OC)
September 27 or 28 (TBD due to Presidential Debate). Return of the Titan!
*4*4*4*3 – 7431 – 2tmp, 3 perc – hp – str (14/12/12/12/8)
9’ Arvo Pärt: Fratres for Strings and Percussion (OC)
55’ Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D Major, “Titan“ (OC)
November 2. Shakespeare and the Symphony, with Utopia Early Music and Actors from the UofU Department of Theatre Actor Training Program
*3*322 – 4231 – tmp+2 – hp – str (14/12/10/10/6)
1’ Actor/Intro Speech: Oberon’s speech (Act II, Scene ii) “…wake when some vile thing is near”
10’ Felix Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture
4’ Utopia Early Music feature Moro lasso–Carlo Gesualdo
2’ Actor: Desdemona’s monologue (Act IV, Scene ii)
14’ Antonin Dvorak: Othello Overture
5’ Utopia Early Music Feature: Agincourt carol
5’ Actor: Eve of St. Crispin’s Day from Henry V
3’ William Walton: Death of Falstaff from Henry V
3’ Utopia Early Music feature: Campion: shall i come sweet love to thee
c.10’ Actors: Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 2 (Balcony Scene)
20’ Peter Ilyich Tchaikokvsky: Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
3’ Utopia Early Music feature– Dowland: Now o now I needs must part
2’ Actor: Puck’s final speech from Midsummer Night’s Dream Act V, Scene i)
5’ Mendelssohn: Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
December 5-7. Amahl and the Night Visitors/A Christmas Carol with U Opera at the Grand 1211 – 1100 – tmp/perc – hp – pno – str (3/2/2/2/1)
53’ Giancarlo Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors
7’ Gustav Holst: Christmas Day
12’ G.F. Handel: Four arias (TBD) from The Messiah
15’ Gerald Finzi: In terra pax
3’ Handel: Hallelujah Chorus
December 14. Pops/Family concert featuring Santa’s Guide to the Orchestra; 2:00 Matinee Performance. Jim Bobick, Narrator; U Opera? Robert Baldwin and Oswaldo Machado, conductors.
Est: *3222 – 4231 – tmp+5 – hp – pf/cel – str (12/10/10/10/6)
8’ Anderson: Christmas Festival with choir (Baldwin with Choir)
5’ Arr. Holcombe: Festive Sounds of Hannukah
18’ Britten/Baldwin: Santa’s Guide to the Orchestra (w/new “Santa-spiced” narration)
7’ Gustav Holst: Christmas Day
2’ Nelson, arr. Moss: Frosty the Snowman (sing-along)
2’ Marks, arr. Ployhar: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (sing-along)
3’ G.F. Handel: Hallelujah Chorus (sing-along)
January 25. Summer Arts Piano Competition Winners Concert
(Est: *3222 – 4231 – tmp+1 – hp? – str)
February 8. Vienna Ball
March 15. Spirit of Spring. Hasse Borup, violin; Side by Side musicians
*3222 – 4231 – tmp +5 – hp – str (12/10/8/8/6)
16’ Alexander Borodin: Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor (Side by side students) (OC)
15’ Augusta Reed Thomas: Violin Concerto No. 1, “Spirit Musings”
28’ Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60 (OC)
April 12. Musical Latitude. Laura Grantier, clarinet
*3*3*3*3 – 4331 – asx – tmp+5 – hp – pf – str (14/12/12/12/8)
9’ Maurice Ravel: Alborada del gracioso
c.20’ Nadine Silverman: Trails, An Excursion for Clarinet and Orchestra (world premiere)
35’ Sergei Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances (OC)
May 17. Sound and Silence: An Immersive Audience Experience of Meditation and Music. Soprano, TBD. Phillip Bimstein and Charlotte Bell, Concert and Workshop Meditation Leaders.
*32*3*3 – 4231 – tmp+3 – str (14/12/12/12/8)
16’ Jean Sibelius: Night Ride and Sunrise, op. 55
5’ Phillip Bimstein: “Silence” from Refuge
3’ G.F. Handel, Rheinhard: Ombra mai fu (Largo) from Xerxes
5’ John Cage: 4’33”
55’ Gorecki: Symphony No. 3 “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” (OC)
Before the Downbeat 
