HOUSTON (April 10, 2018) – Slovak conductor Juraj Valčuha returns to Houston to lead the Houston Symphony and pianist Evgeni Bozhanov in Chopin’s poetic Piano Concerto No. 2 April 26 and 28 at 8 p.m. and April 29 at 2:30 p.m. at Jones Hall.
The evening’s program begins with Otto Nicolai’s Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor, a German opera based on Shakespeare’s play in which the knight Falstaff unsuccessfully attempts to pursue two married women at once. Acclaimed pianist Evgeni Bozhanov joins the orchestra to perform the second piece of the program, Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, which features some of the composer’s most tender melodies.
The program concludes with Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra, which became famous and well-known after its use in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film’s unforgettable opening sunrise has become an icon in popular culture.
The concert will take place at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston’s Theater District. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center at Jones Hall (Monday–Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.
ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUTRA
Thursday, April 26, 2018, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 28, 2018, at 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 29, 2018, at 2:30 p.m.
Juraj Valčuha, conductor
Evgeni Bozhanov, piano
Nicolai: Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2
R. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra
About Juraj Valčuha
Chief Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI since 2009. He studied composition and conducting in Bratislava, St. Petersburg with Ilya Musin and Paris.
2005 saw his debut with Orchestre National de France. In the following seasons he led the Philharmonia Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Swedish Radio, Oslo Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale in Florence, Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome. He made his US debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Washington.
In 2011-12, he had his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Berlin Philharmonic,Boston Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and led again the Staatskapelle Dresden, Pittsburgh Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and Orchestra di Santa Cecilia. With his Rai Orchestra he made a tour primarily to the Musikverein Vienna, the Philharmonie in Berlin, to the Enescu Festival in Bucarest, to the Abu Dhabi Classics with soloist Yo-Yo Ma. In 2012-13, he had his debut with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Filarmonica della Scala in Milan and Art Centre Ottawa and led again the NSO Washington, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Swedish Radio, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and Philharmonia.
In 2013-2014, he returned to the Pittsburgh Symphony, WDR Cologne, NDR Hamburg, Philharmonia, Swedish Radio Orchestra, NHK for a Japan tour, Munich Philharmonic and conducted opera productions (Puccini´s Madama Butterfly and Prokofiev’s The Love for three Oranges) at the Maggio Musicale in Florence; he took part at the Bratislava Festival with the Orchestra dell´Accademia di Santa Cecilia.
His engagements in 2014-2015 took him back to the San Francisco, NSO Washington, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic. With the Philharmonia at the RFH he paid a tribute to Lorin Maazel with the Respighi Trilogy. He also had debuts with the St. Louis Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal as well as the Wiener Symphoniker, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the HR Frankfurt. The Rai touring took them to Munich, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Basel and Zurich, with pianist Arcadi Volodos. On the opera house, he conducted productions of Turandot at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and Jenůfa at Teatro Comunale in Bologna.
2015-2016 marks his return with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh and San Francisco Symphony, debut with Minnesota Orchestra. Recurring visits to the Munich Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Swedish Radio and NDR Hamburg Symphony, Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome, as well as Maggio Musicale in Florence. He was touring with Bamberg Symphony to the Beethoven Festival in Bonn, Frankfurt and Cologne as well as with NDR Hamburg to the Bratislava Festival. During the Easter time he conducts Parsifal at the Budapest Opera.
In 2016-2017 he will have his debut with the Chicago Symphony and will lead again the San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Utah Symphony Orchestras, Art Center Ottawa, National Symphony in Washington, OSM Montreal, and Minnesota Orchestra. In Europe he will return to the HR Frankfurt, NDR Hamburg,
Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Philharmonia and at the Bratislava Festival, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome. On the Opera, he will conduct Pique Dame in Florence, Elektra at Teatro di San Carlo Naples and Peter Grimes at Teatro Comunale Bologna.
About Evgeni Bozhanov
Evgeni Bozhanov was born in 1984 in Roussé, Bulgaria and began piano lessons at the age of six. He made his public debut in his hometown when he was twelve, playing a Mozart piano concerto.
In 2001 Bozhanov went to study in Germany. His international career started after he won prizes at several competitions, including the Sviatoslav Richter in Moscow, the Queen Elisabeth in Brussels and the Van Cliburn in Fort Worth, Texas. Although he was one of the clear audience favourites at the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw in October 2010, he was not awarded the top prize, which led to a controversial debate in the Polish press and spontaneous invitations from the major Polish concert promoters and orchestras. In summer 2011, he was invited to open the 7th International Chopin Festival in Warsaw with Chopin’s 1st Piano Concerto and a recital.
In 2010/11, Evgeni Bozhanov appeared in Brussels and toured Japan playing Beethoven’s Third Concerto and Chopin’s First. He took part in the third Abu Dhabi Classics season with the Orchestra Nazionale della RAI under Juraj Valcuha, opened the 2011 Sofia Festival in May with a solo recital, and played recitals at the Lille Piano Festival as well at the Festival La Roque d´Anthéron and the Bad Kissingen Summer Festival.
In the season 2011/12, Evgeni Bozhanov made his debuts at the Berlin Philharmonie, Musikverein Vienna, London’s Royal Festival Hall and Tonhalle Düsseldorf as well as in Milano (Società del Quartetto), Munich (Prinzregententheater), Stockholm and Lahti. He toured Japan with the Deutsche Sinfonie Orchester Berlin and Yutaka Sado followed by a solo tour that culminated with a recital at the Suntory Hall. With the Orchestra Nazionale della RAI under the direction of Juraj Valcuha he played in Freiburg and Vienna. He had his Spanish debut at the Chopin Festival in Valldemossa and at the Schubertiade in Vilabertran, and returned to the Bad Kissingen Festival.
In the season 12/13, he plays at the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Oporto, with the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale in Florence, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Orchestra della RAI Torino as well as in Milano (Serate Musicali), Munich, Essen and Düsseldorf.
About the Houston Symphony
During the 2017-18 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its fourth season with Music Director Andrés Orozco- Estrada and continues its second century as one of America’s leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring and recording activities. The Houston Symphony, one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston June 21, 1913. Today, with an annual operating budget of $33.9 million, the full-time ensemble of 88 professional musicians presents nearly 170 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Additionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s four Community-Embedded Musicians offer over 900 community-based performances each year, reaching thousands of people in Greater Houston.
The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Naxos, Koch International Classics, Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and, most recently, Dutch recording label Pentatone. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category.
For tickets and more information, please visit houstonsymphony.org or call 713-224-7575.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Vanessa Astros: (713) 337-8560, vanessa.astros@houstonsymphony.org
Mireya Reyna: (713) 337-8557, mireya.reyna@houstonsymphony.org
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