HOUSTON (May 5, 2017) – The Houston Symphony’s last subscription concert of the 2016-17 classical series will feature renowned violinist Gil Shaham under the direction of guest conductor Marc Albrecht at 8 p.m. May 19-20 and 2:30 p.m. May 21 at Jones Hall. Albrecht, who holds music director posts at the Dutch National Opera, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, will be making his Houston Symphony debut.
The program begins with Schumann’s Overture to Genoveva, a short and glorious work composed to precede Schumann’s only opera, which premiered in 1850. Shaham will then join the orchestra to perform Prokofiev’s second violin concerto, his interpretation of which the Chicago Classical Review described in 2016 as “lean, bracing, and playful.” Shaham is a multiple Grammy Award winner and has more than two dozen CDs to his name.
The second half of the program features Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, a cornerstone of the symphonic repertoire that was composed over a span of 14 years. From a dark beginning to a triumphant finale, the masterpiece will conclude the orchestra’s classical season.
The concert will take place at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston’s Theater District. For tickets and information, please call (713) 224-7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday–Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.
Shaham Plus Brahms:
- Friday, May 19, 2017, 8 p.m.
- Saturday, May 20, 2017, 8 p.m.
- Sunday, May 21, 2017, 2:30 p.m.
Marc Albrecht Conductor
Gil Shaham Violin
Schumann: Overture to Genoveva
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2
Brahms: Symphony No. 1
Tickets from $25
About Marc Albrecht
Since 2011, Marc Albrecht has served as music director of the Dutch National Opera, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. His contract has been extended until summer 2020. In 2016, the National Opera was awarded the International Opera Award as Opera House of the Year.
In the opera house, Marc is a highly requested guest. In 2013, he debuted at Teatro della Scala Milan with Die Frau ohne Schatten and was reinvited for Hänsel und Gretel in 2017. He conducted at the Bayreuth Festival (2003-2006) with Der Fiegende Holländer as well as Janácek’s From the House of the Dead at Teatro Real in Madrid. He maintains a close relationship with the Semperoper Dresden where, among others, he has conducted Wozzeck, La damnation de Faust and Elektra. At the Bavarian State Opera, he celebrated a notable success of Henze’s Die Bassariden and at the Royal Opera Covent Garden with Der Fliegende Holländer. Vienna’s Theater an der Wien regularly invites him to conduct.
Marc debuted at the Salzburg Festival in 2003 and led Berg’s Lulu with the Vienna Philharmonic in 2010. After spectacular productions of Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise and Janácek’s Die Sache Makropulos, his long-standing relationship with the Deutsche Oper Berlin will open a new chapter in March 2018 with Korngold’s Das Wunder der Heliane. He regularly conducts the Zurich Opera, including Tannhäuser, Die Soldaten and Der Freischütz. Next season, he will perform Arabella at the San Francisco Opera and Ariadne auf Naxos at the renowned festival in Aix-en-Provence with the Orchestre de Paris.
He has appeared with many key orchestras throughout Europe. In the United States, he has conducted orchestras in Saint Louis, Dallas and Cleveland. These performances mark his debut with the Houston Symphony. Central to his symphonic programs is the integration of modern and contemporary works together with the classics. Marc Albrecht has made acclaimed recordings for PENTATONE, initially with the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg, with works from Berg, Korngold and Richard Strauss; the piano concertos of Schumann and Dvorák with Martin Helmchen and with Netherlands Philharmonic, including Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. Additionally, the Netherlands Opera has released live recordings of his performances of Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier and Der Schatzgräber on the Challenge Classics label.
About Gil Shaham
Gil Shaham is one of the foremost violinists of our time. His flawless technique, inimitable warmth and generosity of spirit have solidified his renown as an American master. Highlights of recent seasons include performances with the Berlin and Los Angeles Philharmonics; Boston, Chicago and Singapore Symphony Orchestras; Orchestre de Paris; New World Symphony; and Philadelphia Orchestra; residencies with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Carolina Performing Arts; and an extensive North American tour with The Knights, to celebrate the release of Violin Concertos of the 1930s, Vol. 2. He has also toured Bach’s complete unaccompanied sonatas and partitas to London’s Wigmore Hall and key North American venues in a special multimedia collaboration with photographer/video artist David Michalek.
Gil already has more than two dozen concerto and solo CDs to his name, including bestsellers that have ascended the charts in the United States and abroad. These recordings have earned multiple Grammys, a Grand Prix du Disque, Diapason d’Or and Gramophone Editor’s Choice. His recent recordings are issued on his own Canary Classics label, which he founded in 2004, and include J.S. Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for Violin, Nigunim: Hebrew Melodies, Sarasate: Virtuoso Violin Works, Elgar’s Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Bach’s complete works for solo violin. A passionate advocate for new music, he has premiered works by composers, including William Bolcom, David Bruce, Avner Dorman, Julian Milone and Bright Sheng.
Gil Shaham was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990, and in 2008, he received the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. He plays the 1699 “Countess Polignac” Stradivarius and lives in New York City with his wife, violinist Adele Anthony, and their three children. Please visit gilshaham.com.