Recently, I had the opportunity to ask violin virtuoso Sarah Chang some questions about her up-coming performances of Barber’s Violin Concerto with the Houston Symphony this weekend. Calvin Dotsey: When did you first learn and perform this concerto? Sarah Chang: I adore the Barber Concerto! I learned it only 2 years ago, and absolutely fell … Continued
Last time, we discovered how Rachmaninoff overcame composer’s block with the help of Dr. Nikolai Dahl’s hypnosis therapy and ultimately produced once of his best loved pieces, his Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. What I didn’t tell you, though, was that Rachmaninoff also fell in love during this period, much to the dismay … Continued
Last week, two of Houston’s many community orchestras joined forces with Robert Franz and the Houston Symphony for two evenings of side-by-side rehearsals. The Houston Civic Symphony rehearsed with the Houston Symphony on Tuesday, September 2, and the Texas Medical Center Orchestra rehearsed with them on Wednesday, September 3. Each member of each community orchestra … Continued
The acclaimed Spanish-born conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, revered in the orchestra field and beloved by Houston Symphony musicians, passed away on June 11, 2014. In tribute to Maestro Frühbeck de Burgos and his legacy, the Musicians of the Houston Symphony decided to share their April 8-10, 2011 performance, which Frühbeck de Burgos guest conducted. … Continued
Near the end of each season, the Houston Symphony Society holds its annual board and trustees meeting. This year, our Principal Cellist Brinton Averil Smith spoke to the attendees on behalf of the musicians. His speech turned out to be so much more than a board address. We hope you will read it, draw inspiration from … Continued
One of the most exciting things about playing with the Houston Symphony is having the opportunity to perform with legendary guest artists on a regular basis. This weekend, we are excited to host Grammy® Award winning trumpeter Chris Botti. When we found out we would have the opportunity to interview him for our blog, we thought … Continued
FREE concert at Discovery Green on April 22 The Houston Symphony and Discovery Green are joining forces to celebrate their birthdays with Tango and Tchaikovsky on Tuesday, April 22. The authentically Argentinian evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with tango music by René Casarsa; tango lessons from The Argentine Tango School of Houston; free Malbec … Continued
Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet April 10, 12, 13, 2014 Hans Graf, conductor Johannes Moser, cello Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture Tchaikovsky: Pezzo capriccioso for Cello and Orchestra Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations for Cello and Orchestra Prokofiev: Symphony No. 3 Buy tickets! Conductor Laureate Hans Graf leads the Symphony in a powerful all-Russian program. First, hear … Continued
One of the fun things about doing a show like our upcoming Music of the Mad Men Era concert is that there is an implied fashion angle. We know many of our audience members love to dress up for our shows, so we asked some of Houston’s hottest fashion bloggers to share their thoughts on … Continued
EAST COAST STORMS THREATENED VALENTINE’S DAY CONCERT How the Houston Symphony Saved Valentine’s Day in Less than 24 Hours By Glenn Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer, Houston Symphony Just when it seemed that the Houston Symphony audience for acclaimed vocalist Linda Eder would be broken-hearted on Valentine’s Day due to Eder’s inability to travel to Houston, … Continued
Last week, a few representatives from the Houston Symphony and Houston’s ABC13 KTRK took a trip to Colombia to explore incoming Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada’s home land. The interviews and footage they captured will be featured in the 30-minute TV special they are creating about Andrés, which will air in August of this year. Below … Continued
Christian Wiggs is a seventeen year old musician from Lake Jackson, Texas, where he attends Brazoswood High School. He was introduced to music at a very young age through his musically oriented family. By the age of four, he had already begun singing and acting in his local theater, Brazosport Center Stages. He has participated … Continued
Thirteen musicians, ranging in age from 13 through 18, competed in the Houston Symphony League Concerto Competition on January 4, 2014. These exceptionally talented students represented violin, viola, cello, piano, flute, clarinet and horn. Our three judges hailed from NYC, Boulder, CO and Boise, ID. These musicians performed an entire concerto by memory — a … Continued
In this unprecedented multimedia event, the Houston Symphony will perform a back-to-back lineup of the first two installments in the HD Odyssey film series – The Planets and The Earth (formerly Orbit). See striking images in The Earth, shown on a giant screen above the orchestra, taken from NASA’s missions to Earth’s orbit, and accompanied … Continued
The Houston Symphony Central and Bay Area Leagues have given the orchestra a literal “gift of music” in the form of a brand new Steinway concert grand piano. Houston Symphony League, Vice President of Fundraising, Betty Tutor led the campaign that collected almost $130,000 in donations to fund the purchase of the new instrument. In … Continued
The Huberman Violin By: Joshua Bell This year my violin celebrates its 300th birthday. Known as the Gibson ex Huberman, the revered instrument came into my life one fateful day during the summer of 2001, I was in London, getting ready to play a ‘Proms’ concert at the Royal Albert Hall and decided to stop … Continued
The following is a portion of a blog post Kirill Gerstein wrote for The New York Review of Books: Recently, the British pianist Stephen Hough reported on his blog that he had made “The most exciting musical discovery of [his] life: Tchaikovsky’s wrong note finally corrected.” The article questioned a note in Tchaikovsky’s First Piano … Continued
There are times in your life when you come upon something that defies any sort of logical explanation, a person with such a gift for music that it doesn’t even seem real. I met such a person this week in Houston. Seven year old Jonathan Okseniuk is his name. Jonathan, of YouTube Beethoven 5 fame, won … Continued
This summer, we have planned a very special event in honor of our 100th year: Day of Music on July 13, 2013! This FREE 12-hour festival will showcase Houston’s diverse musical landscape. Attendees will spend the day at Jones Hall listening to dozens of free performances, beginning with a family concert in the morning and … Continued
This summer, we have planned a very special event in honor of our 100th year: Day of Music on July 13, 2013! This FREE 12-hour festival will showcase Houston’s diverse musical landscape. Attendees will spend the day at Jones Hall listening to dozens of free performances, beginning with a family concert in the morning and … Continued