Stravinsky’s Firebird

ABOUT THIS CONCERT

Magic springs from every moment of Stravinsky’s rapturous, red-hot Firebird, a masterpiece of orchestral innovation that soars through landscapes of wonder and enchantment, then roars its way to a heart-pounding finale. Bold brush strokes and bright primary colors fill Stravinsky’s canvas in his invigorating, classical-inspired concerto, and astounding star Leonidas Kavakos holds nothing back in his return to the Jones Hall stage.

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor

Pre-Concert Activities: Attend the Prelude pre-concert discussion, held 45 minutes prior to each Classical concert. Prelude is led by our Musical Ambassador Carlos Andrés Botero, and sometimes features guest artists or orchestra members.

Video Livestream on Sunday, September 22
Watch the Houston Symphony’s first ever video livestream from Jones Hall! Tune in online to see Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada conduct Stravinsky’s Firebird. Learn more.

$15 Student Rush tickets are available for this performance. Learn more.

 

CONCERT UPDATE: CANCELLATION ON SEPTEMBER 19

Due to the threat of severe weather, the September 19 performance of Stravinsky’s Firebird has been canceled. For current ticket holders, we encourage you to take advantage of one of the following options:

  • Exchange your tickets for another performance of Stravinsky’s Firebird. Exchange requests may be submitted online here.
  • Exchange your tickets for another 2019–20 Classical or POPS performance.
  • Donate your tickets for a tax-credit receipt.

SELECT CONCERT DATE:

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PROGRAM

STRAVINSKY Scherzo fantastique
STRAVINSKY Violin Concerto
STRAVINSKY The Firebird (full ballet score)

ARTISTS

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Leonidas Kavakos is a violinist of rare quality, known for his virtuosity, superb musicianship, and the integrity of his playing. By age 21, Leonidas had won three major competitions: the Sibelius (1985), Paganini, and Naumburg (1988). This success led to his recording the original Sibelius Violin Concerto (1903-04), the first recording of this work, which won the 1991 Gramophone Concerto Recording of the Year Award. Leonidas was awarded the 2014 Gramophone Artist of the Year, and was the 2017 winner of the Léonie Sonning Music Prize, Denmark’s most prestigious musical honor.

Highlights of his 2019–20 season include the Sony release of his recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto play-conducting with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and a U.S. tour performing Beethoven trios with Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma that concludes with three concerts at Carnegie Hall. In North America this season, in addition to these concerts, he performs with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Philadelphia, and Montréal, as well as with the Munich Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in Boston. In Europe, he performs with the Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, and Orchestre de Paris, among others. He performs in Asia with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and Taiwan Philharmonic. He also gives recitals in Shanghai and Xinghai.

Leonidas has developed close relationships with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, and more recently, he has also built a strong profile as a conductor. This season, he conducts the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Czech Philharmonic, and RAI National Symphony Orchestra in Torino.

He has an exclusive contract with Sony Classical, for whom he has previously recorded the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and Mozart’s Violin Concertos play-conducting with the Camerata Salzburg. In 2017, he joined Ma and Ax for a recording of the Brahms Trios. Upcoming recording projects include the complete Bach Solo Sonatas and Partitas. Leonidas’s other recordings include Virtuoso, Brahms’ Violin Sonatas with Yuja Wang, Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas with Enrico Pace, all on the Decca label.

Leonidas plays the “Willemotte” Stradivarius violin of 1734.