The Utah Symphony, celebrating its 75th anniversary in the 2015-16 season, is one of America's major symphony orchestras and a leading cultural organization in the Intermountain West, recognized internationally for its distinctive performances, commitment to music education, and recording legacy. This newly recorded performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 is the first release documenting the orchestra's new two-year Mahler Symphony Cycle under Music Director Thierry Fischer. Founded in 1940, the Utah Symphony's legendary Music Director from 1947-79, Maurice Abravanel, led the orchestra in its first ever Mahler performance (Symphony No. 4) in 1951. His pioneering cycle of Mahler Symphonies, the first to be completed by an American orchestra, was recorded between 1963-74 and included the first commercial stereo recordings of the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies. Thierry Fischer, Music Director of the Utah Symphony since 2009, has revitalized the orchestra with creative programming and critically acclaimed performances that have drawn consistently full houses. Mr. Fischer has also initiated a major commissioning program that has produced new works by Simon Holt, Michael Jarrell, Nico Muhly, Andrew Norman, and Augusta Read Thomas.