Meet Brian Lin: 2016 Ima Hogg Competition Semi-finalist

Meet Ima Hogg Competition Semi-finalist Brian Lin! This talented 24 year old pianist received his bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School in 2014, where he is currently pursuing his master’s degree with Joseph Kalichstein and Yoheved Kaplinsky. We recently got a chance to ask Brian a few questions about his life in music. Houston Symphony: Where did you … Continued

Meet Samuel Chan: 2016 Ima Hogg Competition Semi-finalist

Meet Ima Hogg Competition Semi-finalist Samuel Chan! This talented 22 year old marimba player began percussion studies at age 6. A graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) and New England Conservatory, Samuel is currently attending The Juilliard School to pursue a Master of Music degree. We recently got a chance to ask … Continued

Q&A with Betsy Cook Weber: Fauré’s Requiem

“As to my Requiem, perhaps I have also instinctively sought to escape from what is thought right and proper, after all the years of accompanying burial services on the organ! I know it all by heart. I wanted to write something different.” —Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem is one of the treasures of the choral … Continued

Karen Gomyo Tangos with Mozart!

Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “a first-rate artist of real musical command, vitality, brilliance, and intensity,” violinist Karen Gomyo is taking the world’s music halls by storm with her brilliant and insightful performances. This weekend, she joins the Houston Symphony in Mozart’s sparkling Violin Concerto No. 3. Recently, I got a chance to ask … Continued

Horner’s Collage: A Concerto for Four Horns Gets Its U.S. Premiere

Titanic. Avatar. Braveheart. Field of Dreams. Some of the biggest movies of the past 30 years have told their stories with the help of sweeping, colorful scores by the late James Horner. He entrusted some of their most poignant moments to the French horn: In Field of Dreams, for instance, the horn lent its glow to the first sight … Continued

Kirill Gerstein Can Play with One Hand Tied Behind His Back!*

Kirill Gerstein, virtuoso pianist and long-time friend of the Houston Symphony, returns on January 22–24 to perform a program with Andrés and the orchestra that includes Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. We spoke with Kirill recently to welcome him back to Houston. Houston Symphony Magazine: What is special to you about Ravel’s Piano … Continued