Often, when we see a performance by an ensemble from abroad, we think of how far the musicians have traveled to be there, and what that must be like. But sometimes we don’t realize just how big of an undertaking it is to transport an entire orchestra -and their instruments- to another continent. Below, Violinist … Continued
As the saying goes, “there is no rest for the weary!” Hot on the heels of our 11-12 season’s end, we at the Houston Symphony packed our bags and headed over to Moscow. We arrived safely on Wednesday and will have a little time to gather our bearings and familiarize ourselves with our surroundings before … Continued
Installment 8: Keeping Your Eye on the Ball By: Brooklynn Adelman, Houston Symphony Intern There is a great connection between music and sports. The ability of both activities to sell out stadiums and halls, maintain a massive fan base, and bring communities together is outstanding. The dedication shown by athletes as they train for hours … Continued
Installment 7: The Sound, er, Vision of Music By: Lauren Moore, Houston Symphony Intern Have you ever wondered what goes through a musician’s head when he performs, or even just sits down practice? Sure, some musicians are strictly business, carefully calculating the numerous technical details they’ve so diligently practiced over and over. Others simply let … Continued
Installment 6: Tomorrow, Houston’s very own Mercedes Smith, principal flutist of the Houston Grand Opera will be competing alongside San Francisco Bay Area native and pianist, Stephanie Ng, along with eight other musicians for the chance of a life time for a young musician – the opportunity to perform a complete concerto with the Houston … Continued
Installment 4: Two Russian pianists were selected as semi-finalists and will be joining us in Houston to compete in the Ima Hogg Competition. 29 year old Anna Keiserman attended The Moscow State Gnessius Academy and is currently a student at the University of Minnesota. Anna mentioned that she thought her English was pretty good until … Continued
Installment 3: Meet our two youngest Ima Hogg Competition contestants: Laura and Alan. 18 year old violinist Laura Park, from Des Plaines, IL, has been studying at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy and will be attending The Curtis Institute of Music in the fall. As the youngest participant in the competition, Laura is planning … Continued
Installment 2: 28 year old harpist, Megan Levin – Shepherd School of Music graduate, native Texan originally from Austin, and current resident of Brooklyn, NY – is thrilled to be returning to Houston to compete in the Ima Hogg Competition, and especially to indulge in Houston’s great culture and food during her stay. Similarly, 27 … Continued
Installment 1: Being selected as a semi-finalist in the internationally recognized Ima Hogg Competition is no small feat. Ten semi-finalists were selected from an applicant pool of 106 young musicians, ages 13-30, representing all of the orchestral instruments and piano, and hailing from 18 different countries. This competition is unique, as it is the most … Continued
Julie Thayer, French Horn, Houston Symphony, shares her personal thoughts and photographs from her time in New York. The Houston Symphony recently played Carnegie Hall to open the 2012 Spring for Music Festival. New York City, musically speaking, is like a Saharan Desert watering hole. It draws life and vitality to it with magnetic force … Continued
Join the Houston Symphony as they perform Cole Porter’s greatest hits such as “Anything Goes,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Night and Day,” and many more! Featuring Brett Mitchell, conductor, and Broadway vocalists Ryan Silverman and Jennifer Hope Wills, this is a concert you don’t want to miss! BUY TICKETS HERE! PS- Some … Continued
Make your gift of any amount online today to be counted amongst the 5,000 donors helping the Houston Symphony receive this second $1 million grant from Houston Endowment. Visit /annualfund
To learn more about this weekend’s concert, titled Petrouchka & Beethoven, with guest conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, CLICK HERE.
For more information about this weekend’s upcoming Petrouchka and Beethoven concerts, visit /calendar/view.aspx?id=3692
Today’s post comes from this weekend’s guest soloist, percussionist Colin Currie. Read on to learn about his surprise gift from Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara – this gift of his own concerto! It is a great honor to make my debut with the Houston Symphony this season, especially as we will celebrate together “Incantations” by Einojuhani … Continued
There is always something special about bringing the music of my own country abroad. It is wonderful to meet musicians and music lovers who are sincerely interested in the traditions of distant countries. For me, the United States is indeed an extraordinary case. There is nothing really foreign to America, because all nations and cultures … Continued
The third and final week of “RachFest” is filling me with excitement for the upcoming performances of Rachmaninoff’s second concerto. I’m also feeling a hint of nostalgia as this project comes to a close. It has been wonderful and challenging to be immersed uninterruptedly in Rachmaninoff’s concertos. Performing all of them with the musicians of … Continued
Our “RachFest” continues this week with a pairing of Rachmaninoff’s 1st and 4th piano concertos. These two wonderful pieces are sometimes undeservedly overshadowed by their more famous cousins. I am glad to have the chance to present them to the Houston audience, and playing them together in one program makes a lot of sense. Even … Continued
Today’s post was written by artist-in-residence Kirill Gerstein ahead of this month’s RachFest. During RachFest, Gerstein will perform all four of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s knuckle-busting piano concertos. Stay tuned for more posts from Kirill in the coming weeks! I am excited to start our joint Rachmaninoff adventure with the Houston Symphony … Continued
If you were able to make it to last month’s ACCESS concert, you were introduced to the series’s host, Miles Hoffman of NPR’s Morning Edition. Ahead of this weekend’s performances of Handel’s Messiah, Miles took the time to write up a little “tidbit” about the great German composer. … Continued