On May 1, 3 & 4, the Houston Symphony presents Beethoven 7 & Mozart, a program featuring one of Beethoven’s most popular symphonies. In this post, discover how Irish folk music may have inspired this “apotheosis of the dance.” Though Beethoven began sketching ideas for a new symphony almost as soon as his Sixth had … Continued
On April 15 & 16, the Houston Symphony performs Beethoven’s revolutionary Symphony No. 3, Eroica with guest conductor Rafael Payare. In this post, discover how personal crisis and political turmoil combined to inspire one of the most influential pieces of music ever composed. Learn more about this history-making masterpiece in our podcast, On the Music. … Continued
This month, the Houston Symphony presents a two-week Schumann Festival featuring the great Romantic composer’s symphonies, concertos, chamber music, songs, and more. In this post, discover Schumann’s sunny Symphony No. 3. Nicknamed the “Rhenish” Symphony, it was composed while Schumann was living near the scenic Rhine River. Composed in just over a month in November … Continued
This month, the Houston Symphony presents a two-week Schumann Festival featuring the great Romantic composer’s symphonies, concertos, chamber music, songs, and more. In this post, discover Schumann’s masterful Cello Concerto, a work that was only recognized long after Schumann’s death. One of the first compositions Schumann completed after his arrival in Düsseldorf was his Cello Concerto. Curiously, … Continued
This month, the Houston Symphony presents a two-week Schumann Festival featuring the great Romantic composer’s symphonies, concertos, chamber music, songs, and more. In this post, discover how Schumann may have secretly encoded his wife’s name into his passionate Piano Concerto. Composed in a mere two weeks in May 1841 (between the premiere of the First Symphony and … Continued
This month, the Houston Symphony presents a two-week Schumann Festival featuring the great Romantic composer’s symphonies, concertos, chamber music, songs, and more. In this post, discover Schumann’s enchanting Piano Quartet, a work that marries Romantic lyricism with baroque counterpoint. Schumann’s Piano Quartet dates from the autumn of 1842, known as “the year of chamber music.” In this … Continued
On January 30 and February 1 and 2, the Houston Symphony presents Beethoven 7, a program featuring world-renowned pianist Kirill Gerstein in not one, but two virtuoso works by Franz Liszt. In this post, discover how Renaissance art inspired Liszt’s macabre masterwork, Totentanz. Much like Leopold Mozart, Adam Liszt served as his son’s agent and manager … Continued
On January 30 and February 1 and 2, the Houston Symphony presents Beethoven 7, a program featuring world-renowned pianist Kirill Gerstein in not one, but two virtuoso works by Franz Liszt. In this post, discover Liszt’s innovative Piano Concerto No. 1, a masterpiece that took 23 years to complete. The first sketches that would wend their … 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 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
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, 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 October 25, 26, and 27, world-renowned Wagner conductor Marek Janowski leads Wagner + Beethoven 2, a program of thrilling orchestral masterpieces by two of history’s most revolutionary composers. In this post, discover some of the moving and festive music Wagner composed for his opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Visit houstonsymphony.org for tickets and more information. The idea for … Continued
On October 25, 26, and 27, world-renowned conductor Marek Janowski leads Wagner + Beethoven 2, a program of thrilling orchestral masterpieces by two of history’s most revolutionary composers. In this post, discover how Beethoven composed one of his most up-beat works in the midst of personal crisis. Want to learn more? Check out our podcast on … Continued
On October 4, 5, and 6, Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducts Mendelssohn and Mahler, a program of spooky masterpieces featuring the Houston Symphony Chorus. In this post, discover the secret pagan rituals of Mendelssohn’s choral masterpiece, Die erste Walpurgisnacht. Visit houstonsymphony.org for tickets and more information. To this day, people throughout Northern and Eastern Europe continue to frighten … Continued