On January 9, 11, and 12, the Houston Symphony presents Paganini + “Pines of Rome,” a delightful all-Italian program. In this post, learn how the eternal city inspired Respighi’s most celebrated masterpiece, Pines of Rome. Though Respighi completed Pines of Rome during the summer of 1924, in an interview he explained that the piece had been “conceived, … Continued
On January 9, 11, and 12, the Houston Symphony presents Paganini + “Pines of Rome,” a delightful all-Italian program featuring world-renowned violinist Augustin Hadelich, who returns to play Paganini’s virtuoso Violin Concerto No. 1. In this post, discover how Paganini revolutionized violin playing with his unprecedented technique. Sources differ as to when exactly Paganini composed his … Continued
On January 17, 18, and 19, the Houston Symphony presents Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique,” a program of soulful works by Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, and contemporary Finnish composer Outi Tarkiainen. In this post, discover Tchaikovsky’s final masterpiece and the complex questions that surround its meaning and interpretation. In 1939, Winston Churchill famously declared that Russia was “a riddle, wrapped … Continued
On January 9, 11, and 12, Grammy Award-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich joins the Houston Symphony for Paganini + “Pines of Rome.” The program features Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1, a piece that pushed the instrument to its limits. The Symphony’s Calvin Dotsey recently asked Hadelich about Paganini, the work’s virtuoso feats, and more. Calvin Dotsey: How … Continued
If there had been a Billboard Hot 100 Chart in Beethoven’s day, his Seventh Symphony certainly would have been at the top. At its premiere, the work was so well received that it literally stopped the show. More than 200 years later, it remains one of his most popular achievements. As the world celebrates the … Continued
Next month, the Houston Symphony features two remarkable guest artists in some of the repertoire’s most staggeringly difficult works. On January 9, 11, and 12, Augustin Hadelich plays Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 as part of Paganini + “Pines of Rome,” and on January 30 and February 1 and 2, pianist Kirill Gerstein plays two … Continued
On December 5, 7, and 8, world-renowned violinist Gil Shaham returns to Jones Hall for Shaham Plays Brahms + López World Premiere, a program featuring Brahms’ magnificent Violin Concerto and the world premiere of a symphony inspired by space exploration. Discover how friendship and lofty artistic ideals inspired Brahms to make his Violin Concerto a … Continued
The Houston Symphony’s signature event of the 2019–20 season, Schumann Festival: Angels and Demons celebrates German composer Robert Schumann (1810–1856). As a music critic, he championed the work of a young Johannes Brahms, whose Violin Concerto is also a part of the Symphony’s Classical series on December 5, 7 & 8. Before Robert’s untimely death, … Continued
On November 29, 30, and December 1, the Houston Symphony celebrates Thanksgiving with A Musical Feast: All-Strauss Thanksgiving, a program featuring four of Richard Strauss’s greatest masterpieces. In this post, discover Strauss’s Four Last Songs, perhaps the most beautiful music ever written. In 1946, Strauss was reading the works by Joseph von Eichendorff (an early 19th century … Continued
On November 29, 30, and December 1, the Houston Symphony celebrates Thanksgiving with A Musical Feast: All-Strauss Thanksgiving, a program featuring four of Richard Strauss’s greatest masterpieces. In this post, discover Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, a lively comic work about the conflict between stern forces of repression and the irrepressible spirit of freedom. The legend of … Continued
On November 29, 30, and December 1, the Houston Symphony celebrates Thanksgiving with A Musical Feast: All-Strauss Thanksgiving, a program featuring four of Richard Strauss’s greatest masterpieces. In this post, discover Strauss’s Don Juan, a swashbuckling romp that scandalized Strauss’s contemporaries with its shocking eroticism and ultra-modern musical style. Richard Strauss was a musically precocious child who … Continued
On November 29, 30, and December 1, the Houston Symphony celebrates Thanksgiving with A Musical Feast: All-Strauss Thanksgiving, a program featuring four of Richard Strauss’s greatest masterpieces. In this post, discover Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration, a powerful tone poem that explores the ultimate mystery of what lies beyond earthly existence. Over the course of the … Continued
On November 22, 23, and 24, the Houston Symphony presents Trifonov Plays Tchaikovsky, a program featuring world-renowned virtuoso Daniil Trifonov in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 together with Ravel’s vibrant orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Opening the program is Celephaïs from The Cities of Lovecraft, a recent work by French composer Guillaume Connesson. … Continued
On November 22, 23, and 24, the Houston Symphony presents Trifonov Plays Tchaikovsky, a program featuring world-renowned virtuoso Daniil Trifonov in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, plus Ravel’s vibrant orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. In this post, discover the pictures that inspired this musical art gallery. Learn more about Mussorgsky’s masterpiece in our podcast. One … Continued
On November 22, 23, and 24, the Houston Symphony presents Trifonov Plays Tchaikovsky, a program featuring world-renowned virtuoso Daniil Trifonov in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. In this post, discover one of history’s most popular (and unconventional) masterpieces. You Can’t Please Everyone Today, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 is one of the most popular pieces of … Continued
On November 15, 16, and 17, acclaimed conductor Fabien Gabel returns to Houston for Ax Plays Beethoven, a program featuring works by Beethoven and Brahms. In this post, discover the hidden meanings in Brahms’ gorgeous Symphony No. 2. Brahms took at least 14 years to complete his First Symphony (and perhaps more than 20); to a … Continued
On December 5, 7, and 8, the Houston Symphony presents the world premiere of Ad Astra, a new symphony by Composer-in-Residence Jimmy López Bellido (the program also features the internationally renowned virtuoso Gil Shaham in Brahms’ classic Violin Concerto). Get a preview of Jimmy’s exciting and imaginative new work below. Perhaps no sound is more … Continued
On November 15, 16, and 17, world-renowned pianist Emanuel Ax joins the Houston Symphony for Ax Plays Beethoven, featuring Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1. In this post, discover the musical twists and turns of this bold and daring masterpiece. Though Beethoven’s C major piano concerto is known today as his first, it was actually the … Continued
In February 2020, the Houston Symphony and Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada present the Schumann Festival: Angels and Demons, a celebration of German composer Robert Schumann. The signature event of the 2019–20 season, this immersive, two-week festival gives audiences the unique chance to experience the full spectrum of Schumann’s musical output while diving into one of … Continued
On October 25, 26, and 27, the Houston Symphony presents Wagner + Beethoven 2, a program of thrilling orchestral masterpieces by two of history’s most revolutionary composers. The selections from Richard Wagner’s operas Tannhäuser and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg offer moments for the brass section to shine. Allen Barnhill, principal trombone, discusses the challenges and … Continued