Haydn, Mendelssohn, & A Viola Concerto

OVERVIEW

The rich voice of the viola takes center stage as Utah Symphony Principal Viola Brant Bayless performs Dai Fujikura’s Wayfinder, a concerto inspired by Polynesian navigation traditions. In this imaginative work, the orchestra becomes the natural forces used to find direction—stars, winds, and ocean swells—while the soloist listens and charts a path forward through shifting musical currents.

Like a musical guide through the evening, Maurice Cohn conducts a program that unfolds across vivid sonic landscapes, beginning with Mendelssohn’s atmospheric The Hebrides, which evokes Scotland’s rugged coastline with dark, rolling lines in the low strings set against shimmering winds and strings that suggest the sea air. The journey concludes with Haydn’s jubilant Symphony No. 104—his final symphony—whose finale bursts with rustic, folk-inspired energy that resonates beautifully in the intimate acoustics of St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

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PROGRAM

MENDELSSOHN: The Hebrides
DAI FUJIKURA: Wayfinder
HAYDN: Symphony No. 104

ARTISTS

Maurice Cohn
conductor

Brant Bayless
viola

Utah Symphony