Thank you for sharing an incredible year with the Houston Symphony! We kicked off 2022 with world-renowned musical ensemble Pink Martini as part of our Bank of America POPS series and welcomed back former Houston Symphony Music Director Christoph Eschenbach to conduct Beethoven and Brahms Symphony No. 1.
The first of two festivals the Houston Symphony performs this season highlights some of the works that scandalized the artistic establishments of their day. Read on to learn more about the pieces the Symphony will perform during the Riots & Scandals Festival January 13–22 and others that had less than desirable performances. The Miraculous Mandarin … Continued
January 13–15 marks the first weekend of the Houston Symphony’s Riots & Scandals Festival, featuring works that scandalized the artistic establishments of their day paired with Yefim Bronfman’s interpretation of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Read on to discover this passionate, virtuoso cornerstone of the piano repertoire. All Voices at Once After a busy season … Continued
This January, the Houston Symphony presents its Riots & Scandals Festival, a two-week festival highlighting works that scandalized the artistic establishments of their day. The program on January 20, 21 & 22 features Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, played by the sensational Khatia Buniatishvili. Read on to discover one of … Continued
Have you ever seen a movie where the “small town” musician gets their big break when a famous rock star notices them at a dive bar? That’s exactly what happened to Michael Cavanaugh! We caught up with piano-and-vocal talent Michael Cavanaugh ahead of his performance with the Symphony January 6, 7 & 8. Read below to … Continued
When our musicians are not on the Jones Hall stage playing for the Houston community, they are making memories with their family and friends. Here’s how some Houston Symphony orchestra and chorus members spend their holidays. Brinton Averil Smith Principal Cello Janice and Thomas Barrow Chair
Nothing says “holiday” like the Houston Symphony tradition of Very Merry Pops! This year, on December 15, 17, and 18, Broadway star N’Kenge joins the Symphony, Chorus, and creator of Very Merry Pops and former Houston Symphony Principal POPS conductor Michael Krajewski. We caught up with Conductor Krajewski to give you a sneak peek inside this … Continued
ABOVE: Community-Embedded Musician, Dave Connor, instructs DeLUXE K!ds students This past September, the Houston Symphony, in partnership with the 5th Ward Cultural Arts District’s DeLUXE Theater and the American Festival of the Arts (AFA), launched DeLUXE K!ds In Harmony, a community-based music education program that provides exceptional violin training and social development to elementary students … Continued
For many, Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 were their first introduction to classical music. Through a combination of both widely-known and lesser-recognized pieces outside the classical music world with groundbreaking animation, these motion pictures are immortalized as part of Disney’s legacy. Read about the program below before seeing the stunning visuals and live music performed by the Houston Symphony … Continued
The Houston Symphony is excited to announce the newly selected recipients of our Community-Embedded Fellowship! The Community-Embedded Fellowship, a collaboration with Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, is an apprenticeship program that provides graduate music students with the opportunity to develop community engagement skills. The fellowship … Continued
For many of us, Disney’s Fantasia was our first introduction to the playground of the imagination that is the orchestra. Walt Disney himself said, “In a profession that has been an unending voyage of discovery in the realms of color, sound and motion, Fantasia represents our most exciting adventure.” The story of how Disney’s most … Continued
3…2…1… Blast Off! Fasten your seatbelts and blast off to the stars when acclaimed conductor Gemma New leads Holst’s celestial showpiece, The Planets, on November 11, 12 & 13.
In October 1883, Antonín Dvořák wrote to his publisher: “I was recently in Vienna, where I spent very fine days with Dr. Brahms, who had just come back from Wiesbaden,” a picturesque town on the Rhine river in Western Germany. The Czech composer, a good friend of Brahms, continued: “You know, of course, how very … Continued
The orchestra librarian’s job is to guarantee that the right music is in the right place at the right time for all orchestral rehearsals and performances. Before each rehearsal begins, the Houston Symphony Librarians work closely with the Music Director and guest conductors to prepare the music for the orchestra, allowing rehearsal time to be … Continued
To close out Classical Music Month, we caught up with some of our musicians to talk about their experience with classical music and what it means to them. Houston Symphony: What got you into classical music? Why did you choose your instrument?
For Silvestre Reveultas, Sensemayá made him one of the most well-known Mexican composers. Over ten years later, the piece gained international attention through a New York performance under the baton of former Houston Symphony Music Director Leopold Stokowski. See the Houston Symphony perform this oral tone poem along with Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring January 20, 21 … Continued
On September 30 and October 1 and 2, the Houston Symphony presents Gershwin Concerto in F, featuring Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1 and Gershwin’s Concerto in F, one of Gershwin’s many pieces that brought jazz into the classical world. One year after writing his fusion of jazz and classical music, Gershwin set out to show the … Continued
On September 16, 17, and 18, the Symphony presents Verdi’s Requiem, a program featuring Verdi’s largest nonoperatic work. In this post, discover how two people influenced Verdi’s writing of this piece after their death. Described as bleak and foreboding, musicologist David Rosen says Verdi’s Requiem is “probably the most frequently performed major choral work composed … Continued
Legendary rapper Common returns to the Houston Symphony July 29 & 30 for a celebration of hip-hop! Before you join us at the Hobby Center, hear from Common’s Grammy award-winning arranger and producer, Derrick Hodge, on composing hip-hop music for symphony orchestra. Houston Symphony: What is your creative process for fusing hip-hop and orchestral music … Continued
The Houston Symphony closes its memorable 2021–22 Bank of America Pops Season with a bang with a can’t-miss tribute to the Master of Film Scores himself, the legendary John Williams. Having recently celebrated his 90th birthday earlier this year, Williams’s illustrious career spans decades and his work for the silver screen has broken records and … Continued