The French Connection: The Houston Symphony Performs the Music of France

On March 8, 9 and 10, the Houston Symphony presents a delectable all-French program featuring mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and Debussy’s La mer. In this post, Grammy Award®-winning conductor Ludovic Morlot introduces listeners to this sumptuous repertoire. Get tickets and more information here. Bach. Beethoven. Brahms. Classical concert life is often dominated by Teutonic geniuses, but throughout history, … Continued

Virtuoso Passion: d’Albert’s Cello Concerto

On March 29, 30 and 31, the Houston Symphony presents Carl Orff’s spectacular masterpiece, Carmina Burana. Houston Symphony Principal Cello Brinton Averil Smith opens the concert with d’Albert’s passionate Cello Concerto. In this post, discover this virtuoso cello showpiece and the stormy love-life of the composer who wrote it. Get tickets and more information here. Even … Continued

Musical Mischief: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4

On March 15, 16 and 17, classical superstar Joshua Bell returns to the Houston Symphony to play/conduct an all-Beethoven program. In this post, discover Beethoven’s delightful Fourth Symphony, a lighthearted masterpiece full of mischievous musical jokes. Get tickets and more information here. Though the sketchbook for Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony has been lost, surviving evidence suggests that Beethoven … Continued

Sublime Serenity: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto

On March 15, 16 and 17, classical superstar Joshua Bell returns to the Houston Symphony to play/conduct an all-Beethoven program. In this post, discover Beethoven’s one-and-only Violin Concerto, one of his most deeply-felt and satisfying masterpieces. Get tickets and more information here. In 1794, the 14-year-old prodigy Franz Clement was already long-established as one of … Continued

Pleasure is the Law: Debussy’s La mer

On March 8, 9 and 10, the Houston Symphony presents a delectable all-French program featuring mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and Debussy’s La mer. In this post, discover how Debussy’s masterpiece revolutionized orchestral music. Get tickets and more information here. Revolutionaries are often brash, noisy characters, iconoclasts intent on shattering traditions; Debussy, however, was a quiet revolutionary. Rather than … Continued

Eight-Legged Ballet: Roussel’s Suite from The Spider’s Feast

On March 8, 9 and 10, the Houston Symphony presents a delectable all-French program featuring mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, Debussy’s La mer and other French musical masterpieces. In this post, discover Roussel’s Suite from Le Festin d’araignée (The Spider’s Feast), a gem of impressionist ballet. Get tickets and more information here. One of the leading French composers of … Continued