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 April 4, 6, and 7, the Houston Symphony presents a stirring all-Russian program featuring Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3. Opening the concert is Shostakovich’s delightful Ballet Suite No. 1. In this post, discover the turbulent history behind this seemingly carefree music. Get tickets and more information here. Zhdanov’s infamous decree … Continued
Above: Detail from Odilon Redon’s Pandora. On November 2, 3 and 4, the Houston Symphony welcomes renowned conductor Bramwell Tovey back to Jones Hall for The Seven Deadly Sins, a playfully provocative program of works by Strauss, Scriabin and Weill. Learn more about the spiritual and sensual sides of Scriabin’s The Poem of Ecstasy in this … 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 September 21, 22 & 23, the Houston Symphony performs Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 as part of its Bronfman Plays Prokofiev program led by Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Learn more about this fascinating work in the post below. Like Prokofiev’s First Symphony, Shostakovich’s Ninth was written in a fateful year: 1945. It also subverted the … Continued
On September 21, 22 and 23, 2018, world renowned piano virtuoso Yefim Bronfman returns to Houston to perform Prokofiev’s spellbinding Piano Concerto No. 2 with Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Houston Symphony. Discover the dark backstory behind this fascinating masterpiece. Prokofiev composed his second piano concerto at the age of 21 while on winter … Continued