On February 28 and March 2 and 3, the Houston Symphony welcomes violinist Jennifer Koh back to Jones Hall to play Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Violin Concerto. In this post, discover what makes this work a contemporary masterpiece. Get tickets and more information about the concerts here. (Header photo: Minna Hatinen / Finnish National Opera and Ballet) Carrying on in … Continued
January 17 is Get to Know Your Patrons Day, so to celebrate, we decided to get to know one of the Houston Symphony’s biggest fans a little better. In this post, meet longtime Classical Series subscriber George C. John. Thank you to all of our loyal patrons and donors. Your support makes everything we do … Continued
On January 24, 26 and 27, internationally renowned violinist Baiba Skride returns to Houston to play Korngold’s virtuoso Violin Concerto. In this post, discover how the master film composer of Hollywood’s golden age transformed his movie themes into one of the best-loved concertos of the 20th century. Get tickets and more information here. Whenever Korngold … Continued
On January 24, 26 and 27, Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada returns to Houston to lead the orchestra in a program featuring Ravel’s La valse. In this post, discover how this dazzling orchestral showpiece has inspired intense debate about its true meaning. Get tickets and more information here. Music is a famously subjective art form; different … Continued
On January 24, 26 and 27, Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Houston Symphony continue their exploration of Charles Ives’ Fourth Symphony. In this post, discover the traditional protestant hymns that inspired the serene third movement of this watershed symphony. Get tickets and more information here. Ives’ Fourth Symphony is his crowning achievement, the summation … Continued
On January 4, 5 and 6, conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane performs Gershwin’s legendary Rhapsody in Blue in its rarely heard original form for jazz band and piano. In this post, discover the circumstances surrounding the genesis of this iconic masterpiece. Get tickets and more information here. On January 3, 1924, the Gershwin brothers were … Continued
On January 4, 5 and 6, conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane returns to the Houston Symphony for a program of classical pieces inspired by jazz and popular music, including Timo Andres’ Paraphrase on Themes of Brian Eno. In this post, discover how Andres transforms Eno’s late-’70s alt-rock melodies into a piece of orchestral music. Get … Continued
On January 4, 5 and 6, Jeffrey Kahane returns to Jones Hall to play and conduct not only Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, but also Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. In this post, learn more about this enchanting work, one of Ravel’s final masterpieces. Get tickets and more information about the concert here. Ravel had long … Continued
We often think of classical and popular music as belonging to distinct, separate worlds, but for most of history this was not the case. In the Jazz Age especially, classical composers often made allusions to popular music; likewise, many popular songwriters would have a symphony stashed away to work on in their spare time. Perhaps … Continued
Ali Ewoldt shares some of her favorite Christmas music with us when she joins Steven Reineke and the Houston Symphony for Very Merry Pops, December 7, 8 and 9 at Jones Hall. Get to know this charming vocalist as she shares holiday memories from her childhood. Broadway star Ali Ewoldt is renowned for her dramatic … Continued
Above: Detail from Monet’s The Houses of Parliament, Sunset. On November 29 and December 1 and 2, the Houston Symphony welcomes renowned conductor Edo de Waart to Jones Hall for a performance of Elgar’s noble and passionate Symphony No. 1. Learn more about this masterpiece and the context that inspired it in this post. The … Continued
Celebrate Veterans Day the classical way with this playlist of great American music. We hope this selection of familiar favorites and hidden gems brings the joy of music to your day. If you like having the freedom to listen to whatever music you want—thank a veteran! Copland: Lincoln Portrait Composed in 1942, Copland’s Lincoln Portrait … Continued
This November, the Houston Symphony gives you the rare chance to experience Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s 1933 ballet chanté (“sung ballet”), The Seven Deadly Sins, live in concert. Part classical, part cabaret, with catchy tunes galore and plenty of sharp satire, it’s a remarkable fusion of popular entertainment and high art from two 20th … Continued
On November 29 and December 1 and 2, the Houston Symphony welcomes world-renowned pianist Garrick Ohlsson back to Jones Hall for Ohlsson Plays Beethoven, a program featuring Beethoven’s dramatic Piano Concerto No. 3. Learn more about this fiery masterpiece and the events that may have inspired it in this post. The earliest sketch for Beethoven’s … Continued
Leonardo R. Soto Jr. is the newly appointed Principal Timpanist of the Houston Symphony and the first native Hispanic timpanist to play in a professional orchestra in the United States. Leo served as principal timpanist of the Charlotte Symphony from 2009 until 2018, and the Michigan Opera Theatre-Detroit Opera House from 2003 to 2009. He … Continued
Above: Detail from Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. This Thanksgiving weekend, the Houston Symphony performs a program of music by composers associated with Vienna: Mozart, Brahms and Suppé. Learn more about Brahms’ powerful Symphony No. 4, a work of profound depth that many critics regard as his greatest masterpiece. During the summers … Continued
Above: Detail of Jean Honoré Fragonard’s The Love Letter. This Thanksgiving weekend, the Houston Symphony welcomes acclaimed pianist Inon Barnatan back to Jones Hall for performances of Mozart’s enchanting Piano Concerto No. 22. Learn more about this colorful work in this post. Mozart completed the Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major on December 16, … Continued
On November 2, 3 and 4, the Houston Symphony welcomes renowned conductor Bramwell Tovey and vocalist Storm Large back to Jones Hall for The Seven Deadly Sins, a playfully provocative program of works by Strauss, Scriabin and Weill. Learn more about The Seven Deadly Sins, Weimar Germany’s swan song, in this post. Born in 1900 to a German-Jewish … Continued
Above: Detail from Odilon Redon’s Pandora. On November 2, 3 and 4, the Houston Symphony welcomes renowned conductor Bramwell Tovey back to Jones Hall for The Seven Deadly Sins, a playfully provocative program of works by Strauss, Scriabin and Weill. Learn more about the spiritual and sensual sides of Scriabin’s The Poem of Ecstasy in this … Continued
On November 2, 3 and 4, the Houston Symphony welcomes renowned conductor Bramwell Tovey back to Jones Hall for The Seven Deadly Sins, a playfully provocative program of works by Strauss, Scriabin and Weill. Learn more about Salome’s Dance (also known as The Dance of the Seven Veils) from Strauss’s scandalous opera Salome in this post. One … Continued