HOUSTON (Dec. 21, 2018) – The Houston Symphony welcomes back American piano star and conductor Jeffrey Kahane for a program of jazz-inspired works, capped by one of George Gershwin’s seminal and most popular compositions, Rhapsody in Blue.
1983 Grand Prize Winner of the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition and former music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Kahane is both piano soloist and conductor for two works on this Houston Symphony program: Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue in its rarely-heard original jazz band version and Ravel’s jazzy, blues-influenced Piano Concerto in G major. Rounding out the program are another jazz-influenced work, Darius Milhaud’s Creation of the World, and a contemporary work by Timo Andres which adapts the music of ambient and alternative rock musician and producer Brian Eno for orchestra.
Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue sponsored by Shell takes 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.
GERSHWIN’S RHAPSODY IN BLUE
Friday, Jan. 4, 2018, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 5, 2018, 8 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 6, 2018, 2:30 p.m.
Jeffrey Kahane, conductor and piano
About Jeffrey Kahane
Equally at home at the keyboard or on the podium, Jeffrey Kahane has established an international reputation as a versatile artist, recognized by audiences for his mastery of a diverse repertoire ranging from Bach and Beethoven to Gershwin and John Adams.
Jeffrey appears as soloist with major orchestras throughout the country and is a popular artist at leading U.S. summer festivals. In 2016, he was appointed music director of the Sarasota Music Festival, which offers masterclasses and chamber music coaching and features chamber music performances and orchestral concerts performed by advanced students, young professionals and faculty members.
Since making his Carnegie Hall debut in 1983, he has given recitals in many of the nation’s major music centers and is equally at home as a chamber musician. He collaborates with today’s most important chamber ensembles and was artistic director of the Green Music Center ChamberFest (2015 and 2016).
Jeffrey made his conducting debut at the Oregon Bach Festival in 1988. Since then, he has guest conducted many U.S. orchestras. In May 2017, he completed his 20th and final season as music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He also served as music director of the Colorado Symphony (2005-2010) and for 10 seasons was music director of the Santa Rosa Symphony where he is now conductor laureate. He has received much recognition for his innovative programming, commitment to education and community involvement and received ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming for his work in Los Angeles and Denver.
He has recorded for the SONY, EMI, Telarc, RCA, Nonesuch, Deutsche Grammophon, Virgin Records, Decca/Argo and Hänssler labels.
A native of Los Angeles and a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Jeffrey studied piano with Howard Weisel and Jakob Gimpel. First Prize winner at the 1983 Rubinstein Piano Competition and a finalist at the 1981 Van Cliburn Competition, he received the 1983 Avery Fisher Career Grant. An avid linguist, he received a master’s degree in classics from the University of Colorado Boulder. He is currently a professor of keyboard studies at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.
Jeffrey Kahane resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Martha, a clinical psychologist. They have two children—Gabriel, a composer, pianist and singer/songwriter and Annie, a dancer and poet.
About the Houston Symphony
During the 2018-19 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its fifth 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.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Eric Skelly: (713) 337-8560, eric.skelly@houstonsymphony.org
Mireya Reyna: (713) 337-8557, mireya.reyna@houstonsymphony.org
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