HOUSTON (March 27, 2018) – Prodigious artist Benjamin Beilman joins the Houston Symphony on stage for his debut in the program Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty on April 6-7 at 8 p.m. and April 8 at 2:30 p.m. in Jones Hall.
Russian conductor Andrey Boreyko, Music Director of Orchestre National de Belgique in Belgium and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida, returns to Houston and leads violin virtuoso Beilman has he interprets Mendelssohn’s dazzling Violin Concerto, the most popular and frequently played violin concerto in history.
The program includes excerpts from Austrian composer Franz Schreker’s The Distant Sound, a romantic opera about love. Boreyko and the Symphony conclude the evening’s program with selections from Tchaikovsky’s beloved and treasured ballet score, Sleeping Beauty.
The concert will take place at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston’s Theater District. For tickets and information, please call (713) 224-7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday–Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.
TCHAIKOVSKY’S SLEEPING BEAUTY
Friday, April 6, 2018, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 7, 2018, at 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 8, 2018, at 2:30 p.m.
Andrey Boreyko, conductor
Benjamin Beilman, violin
Schreker: Nocturne from The Distant Sound
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky: Selections from The Sleeping Beauty
About Andrey Boreyko
Andrey Boreyko has been Music Director of Orchestre National de Belgique since September 2012, expanding its activities nationally and internationally and balancing traditional repertoire with innovative, diverse programming which includes a number of commissions from around the world with new works from Georgia (Gia Kancheli), Turkey (Fazil Say), Belgium (Frederik Neyrinck). In the 2016/17 season Boreyko will present a festival dedicated to the music of Camille Saint-Saëns. In September 2014 Boreyko began his tenure as Music Director of the Naples Philharmonic in Florida and additionally, he holds the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi.
Much sought-after as a guest conductor, in North America he has worked with the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics, The Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Toronto, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Baltimore and Pittsburgh symphony orchestras. 2016/17 sees re-invitations to the Toronto and Detroit symphony orchestras and appearances at both the Aspen and Ravinia festivals – the latter with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. A prolific conductor of the great symphonic repertoire and a passionate advocate for less widely known works, Boreyko conducted one of the most anticipated US premieres in 2014/15 when he led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in their first performance of Górecki’s Symphony No.4, to considerable acclaim.
Current and future European highlights include appearances with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Gothenburg Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Bamberger Symphoniker, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Netherlands and Warsaw philharmonic orchestras. Boreyko has also conducted orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Münchner Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Wiener Symphoniker, Filharmonica della Scala, Royal Concertgebouw, Orchestre de Paris, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, London Symphony, the Philharmonia and Rotterdam Philharmonic.
Notable amongst Boreyko’s discography with the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR (with whom he was Principal Guest Conductor) are Pärt’s Lamentate and Silvestrov’s Symphony No.6 (both for ECM records) and the premiere recording of his original version of the Suite from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk for Hänssler Classics. He has also recorded Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and Lutosławski’s Chain 2 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Yarling Records. With the Orchestre National de Belgique, Boreyko continues his extensive recording project of the complete Shostakovich symphonies, having already recorded Nos.1, 4, 6, 9 and 15 with Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR and he conducted the world-premiere recording of Górecki’s Symphony No.4 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Nonesuch.
Andrey Boreyko was Music Director of the Düsseldorf Symphoniker (2009-14) and Chief Conductor of the Jenaer Philharmonie (of whom he is now Honorary Conductor), Winnipeg Symphony and Berner Sinfonieorchester. He received awards for the most innovative concert programming in three consecutive seasons from the Deutscher Musikverleger-Verband – the first in the history of the prize.
About Benjamin Beilman
Benjamin Beilman is recognized as one of the fastest rising stars of his generation, winning praise both for his passionate performances and deep rich tone which the Washington Post called “mightily impressive,” and The New York Times described as “muscular with a glint of violence.” The Times also praised his “handsome technique, burnished sound, and quiet confidence which showed why he has come so far so fast.” Following his First Prize win at the Montreal Competition, the Strad described his performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto as “pure poetry.”
Highlights of Mr. Beilman’s 2017-18 season include performances with the Houston Symphony, Oregon Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, and Orchestra St. Luke’s, as well as a multi-city tour of California play-directing the New Century Chamber Orchestra in a program including Bach, Stravinsky, and Andrew Norman. In recital, he will premiere a new work written for him by Frederic Rzewski and commissioned by Music Accord, presented by Boston Celebrity Series and Shriver Hall, and on tour throughout the US in the 17-18 and 18-19 seasons. Abroad, Mr. Beilman will make his Australian concerto debut with the Sydney Symphony where he will perform Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto, and debuts with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Trondheim Symphony. He will also perform the European premiere of Frederic Rzewski’s new work at the Heidelberg Spring Festival, and return to the Wigmore Hall in recital.
In the 16-17 season, Mr. Beilman returned to the Philadelphia Orchestra performing Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with Yannick Nézet-Séguin in subscription, and on tour with the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He also premiered a new work by Elizabeth Oganek as soloist on the Chicago Symphony’s new music series, and returned to the San Francisco Symphony with Juraj Valčuha. He performed with the Symphony orchestras of Detroit, San Diego, Atlanta, and Grand Rapids, as well as making recital debuts in San Francisco and Vancouver. In Europe, Mr. Beilman has performed with many of the major orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Symphony and Zurich Tonhalle, and in 16-17 made his debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Krzysztof Urbański, the City of Birmingham Symphony and Vassily Sinaisky, and the Orchestre National de Capitole de Toulouse and Rafael Payare. He also appeared in recital on a ten-city tour of Australia – including debut appearances in Sydney and Melbourne.
In recent seasons, Mr. Beilman has appeared in subscription with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and returned to play with them at the Bravo! Vail Valley Festival, and Saratoga. He also made his recital debuts at the Berlin Philharmonie, and at Carnegie Hall, in a program that included the premiere of a new work by David Ludwig commissioned for him by Carnegie Hall. Further recital appearances include performances at the Verbier Festival, Heidelberg Spring Festival, Louvre, Tonhalle Zürich, Wigmore Hall, and Festpiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Mr. Beilman has also previously performed with Tonhalle Orchester Zürich and Sir Neville Marriner, l’Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the Malaysian Philharmonic and Hans Graf.
Mr. Beilman has received several prestigious awards including a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a London Music Masters Award. In 2010 he won the First Prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and as First Prize Winner of the 2010 Montréal International Musical Competition and winner of the People’s Choice Award, Beilman recorded Prokofiev’s complete sonatas for violin on the Analekta label in 2011. In 2016 he released his first disc for Warner Classics titled Spectrum, featuring works by Stravinsky, Janacek and Schubert.
Mr. Beilman studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago, Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank at the Curtis Institute of Music, and Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy. Mr. Beilman plays the “Engleman” Stradivarius from 1709 generously on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.
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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