The Orchestra at Temple Square announces its fall concert entitled “An Austrian Cello Concerto and a Russian Symphony” on Friday, Oct 18 and Saturday, October 19 at 7:30 in the Tabernacle on Temple Square.  The concert will mark Igor Gruppman’s 10th anniversary conducting the Orchestra.  The featured repertoire will be Haydn’s Cello Concert no. 1 with Daniel Gaisford as guest artist and the Rachmaninoff Symphony no. 2 showcasing the Orchestra.  Tickets for the concert will be available Tuesday, September 17 at 10 a.m. athttp://www.lds.org/church/events or by calling 801-570-0080. 

Franz Josef Haydn’s Cello Concerto, written in the mid 1760s, was lost until 1961 when it was discovered in a Prague museum.  Haydn wrote the work for his friend, cellist Joseph Wiegl, while the two worked for the Esterhazy family.  Haydn served as court musician there for most of his career producing music in every genre, including string quartets, divertimenti, operas, choral works, and music for plays.

The second half of the concert will feature Rachmaninoff’s Symphony no 2 in E minor.  Well-known and well-loved, this work premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1908 under the baton of the composer himself. In the tradition of the Russian symphonies, these four movements are scored for a large orchestra like the Orchestra at Temple Square.

Gruppman, conductor of the Orchestra since 2003, has developed a career as a violin soloist, conductor, concertmaster and chamber musician in the great European capitals and major cities of America, Israel and New Zealand.  American cellist Gaisford is one of the gifted cellists of his generation. He has performed with major orchestras across the United States and Canada and as a recitalist and chamber musician at major festivals around the world.