This Thanksgiving, the Houston Symphony presents one of the repertoire’s most popular orchestral works: Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Discover the story behind this masterpiece inspired by The One Thousand and One Nights. On February 27, 1887, the acclaimed Russian composer Alexander Borodin was attending a party when, after dancing a waltz, he dropped dead of a heart … Continued
After graduating from Yale in 1898, the young Charles Ives moved to New York City and took up residence with other recent graduates in a series of apartments, each of which was known affectionately as “Poverty Flat.” During the decade between his graduation and marriage, Ives would pursue two careers simultaneously: one as a church … Continued
Niccolò Paganini was perhaps the most influential violinist in the history of music. His tours across Europe from 1829-1834 astonished audiences; many of his compositions were so difficult that initially only he could play them. He not only revolutionized violin playing, but also inspired composers that followed him to make virtuoso technique a central part … Continued
Sergey Prokofiev composed his Fifth Symphony during the fateful summer of 1944. Though the Second World War was still raging, the tide had turned in the Allies’ favor. The Soviets were pushing back the Nazis from their borders, and the US and British Allies had landed on the beaches of Normandy in June. Prokofiev in … Continued
When Mozart set out to write three symphonies in the summer of 1788, he could not have known that they would be his last essays in the genre. He was eager to bring in much needed additional income, as the Vienna premiere of his opera Don Giovanni in the spring had not been an unequivocal success. The … Continued
1816 was a busy year for Franz Schubert. He composed approximately 200 compositions, including a mass, various other sacred choral works, his Fourth and Fifth Symphonies, an overture, two concertante works for violin and orchestra, at least two string quartets, three violin sonatas, various other chamber works, two piano sonatas, numerous dances and dozens of … Continued