HOUSTON (May 2, 2017) – The Houston Symphony is teaming up with dozens of students from Crespo Elementary Fine Arts Magnet School Dance Department and Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School Dance Ensemble for a modern-day staging of the 1911 ballet Petrushka, to be premiered at 8 p.m. May 11 and 13 and 2:30 p.m. May 14 at Jones Hall.
The classic story of Petrushka will be brought to life by the orchestra and more than 50 costumed students, who will represent the characters of the story – Petrushka, the Moor and the Ballerina – and their loves and jealousies. Under the direction of Berlin-based choreographer Gabriel Galindez Cruz, the production will be culturally adapted to fit today’s multicultural society, as the students hail from different parts of the world, including Europe and Latin America. Since 2008, Cruz has led the Children’s Dance Company Berlin, which focuses on training children’s movement and developing their talent by exploring themselves and others through movement.
The evening’s program also features Ives’ The Unanswered Question, followed by the return of Israeli-American pianist Yefim Bronfman, who will join the orchestra to perform Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Recognized worldwide as one of today’s most acclaimed pianists, the Grammy-winning recording artist has performed in leading concert halls of North America, Europe and the Far East. His recording work includes the soundtrack to Disney’s Fantasia 2000, among many others. The Washington Post recently praisedBronfman’s late April recital at Washington Performing Arts for performing Bartók “sweetly and ferociously and thoughtfully, making it all sound easy and as if it could go no other way.”
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.
Bronfman Plus Petrushka
- Thursday, May 11, 2017, 8 p.m.
- Saturday, May 13, 2017, 8 p.m.
- Sunday, May 14, 2017, 2:30 p.m.
Andrés Orozco-Estrada Conductor
Yefim Bronfman Piano
Ives: The Unanswered Question
Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2
Stravinsky: Petrushka
Tickets from $25
About Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Houston Symphony Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada began his tenure in the 2014–15 season. He immediately established a dynamic presence on the podium and a deep bond with the musicians of the orchestra. Andrés carefully curates his programs to feature engaging combinations of classical masterworks paired with the music of today, significant artistic collaborations with composers and guest artists, and innovative use of multimedia and visual effects, all in order to make meaningful connections with the audience.
In the 2016–17 season, Andrés continues to engage with audiences both with casual commentary from the stage and discussions with guests in “Behind the Scenes with Andrés” videos. On the recording front, Andrés and the Symphony released the third disc in their critically-acclaimed series featuring Dvorák’s last four symphonies. The series marks Andrés’ first commercial recording project with the orchestra.
Born in Medellín, Colombia, Andrés began his musical studies on the violin and started conducting at age 15. At 19, he entered the Vienna Music Academy, where he studied with Uroš Lajovic (pupil of the legendary Hans Swarowsky) and completed his degree with distinction conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Musikverein. Andrés burst on the international scene with two substitutions with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra: the first, his debut in 2010, standing in for Esa-Pekka Salonen, and then in 2012, substituting for Riccardo Muti at the Musikverein. Andrés now regularly appears with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic and Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestras, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome and the Orchestre National de France.
Recent debuts have included the Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic in New York. In the summer of 2014, he also made his debut at Glyndebourne Festival Opera conducting Don Giovanni, which immediately led to an invitation to conduct La traviata in 2017. The 2016–17 season includes debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to his post in Houston, Andrés is chief conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
About Yefim Bronfman
Internationally recognized as one of today’s most acclaimed and admired pianists, Yefim Bronfman is regularly sought by festivals, orchestras, conductors and recital series. His commanding technique, power and exceptional lyrical gifts are consistently acknowledged by the press and audiences alike.
Honoring a relationship of more than 30 years, he participated in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s 80th birthday celebration with Zubin Mehta in December 2016. He is a regular guest of leading orchestras throughout the world and tours extensively in recital, including a long-standing partnership with Pinchas Zukerman. Always keen to explore chamber music repertoire, his partners have also included Martha Argerich, Magdalena Kožená, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Emmanuel Pahud and many others.
He has given numerous solo recitals in the leading halls of North America, Europe and the Far East, including acclaimed debuts at Carnegie Hall in 1989 and Avery Fisher Hall in 1993. In 1991, he gave a series of joint recitals with Isaac Stern in Russia, marking Yefim’s first public performances there since his emigration to Israel at age 15. That same year he was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize, one of the highest honors given to American instrumentalists. In 2010, he received the Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance from Northwestern University.
Widely praised for his solo, chamber and orchestral recordings, Yefim was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award for his recording of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s piano concerto (Deutsche Grammophon); and in 1997, he won a Grammy for his recording of the three Bartók Piano Concerti with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His prolific catalog of recordings includes works for two pianos by Rachmaninoff and Brahms with Emanuel Ax and the soundtrack to Disney’s Fantasia 2000, among many others. Many of his performances are available on DVD.
Born in Tashkent in the Soviet Union, Yefim Bronfman immigrated to Israel with his family in 1973, where he studied at Tel Aviv University. In the United States, he studied at The Juilliard School, Marlboro School of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music. In 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music. Yefim Bronfman became an American citizen in 1989.