In the 1960s, Gustav Mahler's music received renewed interest in America. While certain champions of Mahler from this period, such as Leonard Bernstein and Bruno Walter, have attracted scholarly attention, other conductors have been largely overlooked, including Maurice Abravanel (1903–1993). During Abravanel's directorship of the Utah Symphony (1947–1979), he consistently programmed Mahler's music, making the orchestra the first American orchestra to record all of Mahler's symphonies. Although the concerts contributed meaningfully to Utah's musical life and some of the recordings were well-received by critics in and outside America, they remain marginalized in accounts of Mahler's music in America. To bridge this gap, the dissertation examines primary sources, including concert and record reviews, program notes, correspondence, and interview transcripts to present the history, reception, and influence of Abravanel's Mahler journey with the Utah Symphony. By examining the musical past of a Western city and considering musical and extramusical factors, this dissertation demonstrates that local and technological histories influenced musical decisions, all of which in turn played a role in the growth of the Utah Symphony and planted Mahler's music in the community. The examination reveals that Abravanel's Mahler carried different meanings for different parties. The recordings, with low prices and superior sound, were recommended by critics and welcomed by audiophiles and music lovers. Abravanel's interpretations were commonly criticized as dispassionate, yet were embraced by those who did not prefer Bernstein's more involved, dramatic readings. Through the recordings of Mahler's music, the Utah Symphony gained national and international acclaim. In Salt Lake City, Mahler became a familiar name, and his music remains integral to the city's music culture. As of the completion of this dissertation, the Utah Symphony is nearing the end a two-season (2014–2016) Mahler cycle and has recorded two symphonies by Mahler under music director Thierry Fischer. The McKay Music Library of the University of Utah is digitizing Abravanel's Mahler scores and documenting memories about Abravanel's endeavors with the Austrian composer's music. The concerts, recordings, and efforts to preserve history again bring the collective memories of Abravanel's Mahler back to the community.

Between 1947 and 1979 the Utah Symphony Orchestra was transformed from an obscure, part-time, amateur orchestra into one of the major symphony orchestras in America. By 1947 the orchestra, which had begun as a Works Progress Administration organization, was barely hanging on. The symphony struggled to remain financially solvent, performing only a few concerts per year. Thirty-two years later the Utah Symphony Orchestra was one of the most prestigious musical ensembles in the country— receiving rave reviews from critics around the world, touring extensively, and with more than a hundred albums to its credit. The remarkable growth of the Utah Symphony Orchestra during this period is largely attributable to the efforts of one man—Maurice Abravanel. Abravanel's unwaveiing commitment to furthering classical music was responsible for the changes that altered the symphony as an organization. His drive to further cultural education throughout the world, and specifically in the American West provides a remarkable story of dedication and commitment. To place Abravanel's ideologies and organizational successes in the context of American classical music, this thesis examines the history of the symphony, as an institution, in America, before turning to a study of Abravanel's personal efforts and the Utah Symphony Orchestra's consequent growth. This thesis argues that the Utah Symphony Orchestra, specifically while under the direction of Maurice Abravanel, provides an example of positive growth in community education and classical music promotion. The particular programs that Abravanel implemented were generally successful, and ultimately responsible for the symphony's unprecedented growth. Further, by examining the challenges and solutions that Abravanel confronted in his work to build the symphony, it is possible to understand better the ingredients necessary to the development of professional classical music organizations. This study uses Abravanel's work with the Utah Symphony as a model for successful community music programs, with the intent to communicate insight into successful methods for the promotion of classical music. Such an examination provides a new and imminently practical method for the historical study of musical institutions.