On May 30, 31 & June 1, the Houston Symphony closes its 2024–25 Season with a sonic wonder unlike anything else in music: Mahler’s Symphony No. 3. Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 radiates dynamism, charm and eloquence, and it closes with one of the most glowing slow movements in the orchestral repertoire. But let’s be … Continued
After Rachmaninoff fled Russia in 1917, he composed only six original pieces during the remaining twenty-five years of his life. Having lost nearly everything in the revolution, he was determined to restore his family to its former standard of living as quickly as possible, which meant giving up composing in favor of pursuing a career … Continued
This post is continued from a previous post, which you can read here. Last time, we discovered the Jaliscan origins of Mariachi music and the economic and social forces of industrialization and revolution that transformed the sound of Mariachi. The evolution of Mariachi music was far from complete, however; the plain clothes and humble status … Continued
Today, Mariachi music is an unmistakable symbol of Mexico and Mexican culture throughout the world. There are Mariachi ensembles in the UK, Croatia, Ecuador, Egypt, and Sweden, not to mention Mexico and the United States. Few people realize that Mariachi music as we know it today only recently evolved as part of the political, social, … Continued
The idea for a ballet based on Daphnis and Chloe (an ancient Greek love story attributed to Longus) originated with the Russian choreographer Michel Fokine. He first proposed the subject to the Director of the Russian Imperial Theaters, but it was not until Fokine became involved with Sergei Diaghilev’s groundbreaking Ballets russes in Paris that … Continued
On September 16, 17, and 18, the Symphony presents Verdi’s Requiem, a program featuring Verdi’s largest nonoperatic work. In this post, discover how two people influenced Verdi’s writing of this piece after their death. Described as bleak and foreboding, musicologist David Rosen says Verdi’s Requiem is “probably the most frequently performed major choral work composed … Continued
Social distancing is hard for everyone, but it’s especially challenging for musicians who live to play music together and share it with others. At the Houston Symphony, we cannot wait until we can safely play concerts for you again, but until then, here’s an update from the members of the orchestra. What activities have you … Continued
Is it possible for a work of art to become too famous for its own good? Like Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Shakespeare’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy, Beethoven’s Fifth is a work that has been so often reproduced, excerpted and remixed that it has become as easy to ignore a as … Continued
There are few individuals who truly change the course of history. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is one of those individuals. There is music before Beethoven and music after Beethoven; the revolution wrought by his works continues to resonate through music made today. From later classical composers to Hollywood film scores and even rock ’n’ roll, … Continued
Above: A member of Big Brothers Big Sisters tries out Community-Embedded Musician Anthony Parce’s viola during the annual Holiday Celebration at the Houston Symphony Family Concert. As music lovers, we know the power music has to change lives, so the Houston Symphony, is always looking for new and unexpected ways to harness this power to make … Continued
Many have accused Bernstein of pretentiousness in associating his Serenade with Plato’s Symposium, suggesting that he merely tacked on the highfalutin subtitle after he had already composed it. Critics typically cite discrepancies between Plato’s classic and the Serenade, arguing that one has little to do with the other: compared with Plato’s book, the movements are … Continued
This Valentine’s Day, you may be wondering how to let your Valentine know how you really feel. Here are five pieces of orchestral music guaranteed to help send the right message. Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture No list of romance-inducing classical music would be complete without Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, which contains the … Continued
In January 1934, Dmitri Shostakovich scored one of the biggest triumphs of his career with the premiere of Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, a work official critics hailed as the first great Soviet opera. Based on a nineteenth-century novella by Leskov, it follows the misadventures of Katerina, the illiterate wife of a well-to-do country … Continued
Culture wars, political dysfunction and rising ethnic tensions—these were the problems that plagued Austria-Hungary in the 1880s, and the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák would be caught in the cross-hairs. The immediate problems of the 1880s had deep roots, however; for centuries, Czech lands had been ruled by the Austrian Hapsburg monarchy, and Czech peoples were often relegated … Continued
Orchestra musicians love touring. The notion that the orchestra is building bridges, making connections, drawing together a diversity of people through music—while also enjoying ovations, sightseeing, history, and culture—make tours a memorable part of any musician’s career. For a while, every musician is removed from everyday concerns—laundry, dishes, what’s for dinner, traffic—and can really focus … Continued
February 2, 3 and 4, percussion rock star Colin Currie joins the Houston Symphony to perform American composer John Corigliano’s Conjurer for Percussion, Strings (and optional Brass). Who could provide a better introduction to this landmark percussion concerto than the composer himself? He did just that at a lecture at the University of British Columbia … Continued
Not long after the triumphant St. Petersburg premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony in 1878, the composer received a letter from a woman who had recently become one of the most important people in his life. Nadezhda von Meck was the immensely wealthy widow of one of Russia’s first railroad magnates, and was an ardent admirer … Continued
In 1934, the Swiss conductor Paul Sacher married Maja Stehlin, the widow who had inherited the Roche pharmaceutical fortune. Finding himself now one of the richest men in the world, Sacher poured his wealth into one of his greatest passions: new music. In 1926, Sacher had founded the Basle Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble dedicated to … Continued
On the evening of November 13, 1943, the 25-year-old Leonard Bernstein was out celebrating the successful premiere of his first composition to appear before the New York public: I Hate Music, a charming, miniature song cycle about a child’s irreverent musings. After much carousing, Bernstein received a call informing him that the eminent conductor Bruno … Continued
On February 27, 1854, Robert Schumann attempted suicide by jumping from a bridge into the river Rhine. Some fishermen soon rescued him, but his sanity was gone. For years he had struggled with mental illness: he heard voices; the note “A” droned on in his head for hours; strange music played in his head; visions … Continued