This season, Music Director Juraj Valčuha will lead the orchestra and special guests in two unforgettable festivals taking place over two weekends: Riots & Scandals: Classical Music that Rocked the World (January 13–15, 2023, and January 20–22, 2023) and Songs of Earth (February 10–12, 2023, and February 17–19, 2023). Here’s a sneak peek of what you can look forward to!

Riots & Scandals: Classical Music that Rocked the World

For the opening weekend of Riots & Scandals (January 13–15, 2023), one of today’s most acclaimed and admired pianists, Yefim Bronfman, returns to perform with the orchestra. Bronfman will take on the staggering virtuosity of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concert No. 3, a piece so demanding that it is often described as the “Mt. Everest” of concertos. Also on the program is British composer Hannah Kendall’s The Spark Catchers.

Finally, Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin, featuring the Houston Symphony Chorus alongside the orchestra, closes the evening. Incendiary when first premiered in 1926, the one act pantomime ballet was banned on moral grounds for its themes of sensuality and violence. Thankfully, Bartók’s explosive musical score remains, and these concerts are your chance to experience every white-hot note.

On the second weekend of the Riots & Scandals festival (January 20–22, 2023), the orchestra will perform Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring’s pounding rhythms, propulsive energy, and sonic energy for an electrifying experience unlike anything else in the art. “The work of a madman … sheer cacophony!” That is how composer Giacomo Puccini described Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring shortly after its premiere in 1913. And yet, a century after the ballet and orchestral work was met with derisive laughter and outrage, it is regarded as one of the most important musical works of the twentieth century.

Also in the program, Georgian-French pianist, Khatia Buniatishvili makes her Houston Symphony debut, joining Valčuha and the orchestra for Tchaikovsy’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The program also features Sensemayá by Silvestre Revueltas—widely considered one of the most significant figures of twentieth century Mexican music.