On May 9, 11, and 12, the Houston Symphony presents award-winning American pianist George Li in not one, but two virtuoso works for piano and orchestra. In this post, discover how the young Prokofiev flouted conventions and got the better of his professors with his Piano Concerto No. 1. Get tickets and more information here. One … Continued
On April 4, 6, and 7, the Houston Symphony presents a stirring all-Russian program featuring acclaimed Rachmaninoff interpreter Simon Trpčeski in the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 4. In this post, discover the turbulent history behind Rachmaninoff’s final piano concerto. Get tickets and more information here. Composer Interrupted Rachmaninoff’s Fourth Piano Concerto had a lengthy genesis; indeed, by … Continued
On March 29, 30 and 31, the Houston Symphony presents Carl Orff’s spectacular masterpiece, Carmina Burana. Houston Symphony Principal Cello Brinton Averil Smith opens the concert with d’Albert’s passionate Cello Concerto. In this post, discover this virtuoso cello showpiece and the stormy love-life of the composer who wrote it. Get tickets and more information here. Even … Continued
On March 15, 16 and 17, classical superstar Joshua Bell returns to the Houston Symphony to play/conduct an all-Beethoven program. In this post, discover Beethoven’s one-and-only Violin Concerto, one of his most deeply-felt and satisfying masterpieces. Get tickets and more information here. In 1794, the 14-year-old prodigy Franz Clement was already long-established as one of … Continued
On October 26, 27 and 28, acclaimed guest conductor Fabien Gabel leads Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, featuring violinist Karen Gomyo. In this post, learn more about Tchaikovsky’s Romantic masterpiece and the surprising relationship that inspired it. Tchaikovsky wrote his Violin Concerto in March 1878 while staying amid the breathtaking mountains of Clarens, Switzerland on Lake Geneva. The … Continued
On October 18, 20 and 21, legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman returns to the Houston Symphony to perform Bach’s exquisite Violin Concerto in A minor as part of our Perlman Plays and Conducts program. In this post, learn how this gem of the violin repertoire was preserved for posterity thanks to one special coffeehouse. The earliest … Continued