Fearless virtuoso Leila Josefowicz brings “stunning brilliance and high-voltage presence” (LA Times) to Stravinsky’s daring and invigorating Violin Concerto with guest conductor Dalia Stasevska on April 18 & 19. Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto dates from 1931, a year far removed from the heady epoch that produced the Scherzo fantastique, The Firebird, and Stravinsky’s other famous works … Continued
For many, Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 were their first introduction to classical music. Through a combination of both widely-known and lesser-recognized pieces outside the classical music world with groundbreaking animation, these motion pictures are immortalized as part of Disney’s legacy. Read about the program below before seeing the stunning visuals and live music performed by the Houston Symphony … Continued
After a dazzling, all-Russian program for our Opening Night Concert, featuring Yefim Bronfman performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, we continue to explore the music of the Tsars’ realm when Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada returns to conduct our first Classical Series concert of the 2019–20 Season: Stravinsky’s Firebird, September 19, 21, and 22. The concert opens … Continued
After a dazzling, all-Russian program for our Opening Night Concert, featuring Yefim Bronfman performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, we continue to explore the music of the Tsars’ realm when Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada returns to conduct our first Classical Series concert of the 2019–20 Season: Stravinsky’s Firebird, September 19, 21, and 22. In this post (a revised … Continued
Above: One of Nicholas Roerich’s original set designs for The Rite of Spring. After the failed revolution of 1905, a cloud of apocalyptic doom seemed to hover over the Russian Empire. With freedom of speech severely curtailed, many artists turned to increasingly subjective, mysterious sources of inspiration. Some, like the composer Alexander Scriabin, were captivated … Continued
In the summer of 1929, the conductor Serge Koussevitzky was making plans for the 50th anniversary season of the Boston Symphony, for which he served as music director. A champion of contemporary music, he decided to mark the occasion by commissioning a symphony from one of the world’s leading composers: Igor Stravinsky. Returning to the … Continued
In 1909, the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev was running out of time. After a grand duke who had been a key backer of his ventures dropped dead and his widow refused to give him any more money, Diaghilev had been forced to abandon his plans to present Russian opera in Paris in the spring of … Continued
Meet Ima Hogg Competition Semi-finalist Samuel Chan! This talented 22 year old marimba player began percussion studies at age 6. A graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) and New England Conservatory, Samuel is currently attending The Juilliard School to pursue a Master of Music degree. We recently got a chance to ask … Continued
Under the leadership of new Music Director and native Colombian Andrés Orozco Estrada, the Houston Symphony has begun an educational partnership with the Colombian Youth Philharmonic. As part of this partnership, fourteen Houston Symphony musicians journeyed to Paipa, Colombia to help prepare these talented young musicians for their upcoming visit to Houston, which will culminate … Continued
On June 23, fourteen Houston Symphony musicians traveled thousands of miles to Colombia to begin our orchestra’s first ever educational partnership with one of Latin America’s finest youth ensembles, the Colombian Youth Philharmonic (Filarmónica Joven de Colombia). Our musicians have been in the small town of Paipa, Colombia working with this next generation of professional orchestral musicians on sectionals, coaching … Continued
The Houston Symphony is proud to impact communities at home and abroad. Through a deep partnership with the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia (Colombian Youth Philharmonic)—a pre-professional training orchestra from Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada’s home country—the Houston Symphony, in partnership with the University of Houston (UH) Moores School of Music, will host the entire Colombian Youth … Continued
For more information about this weekend’s upcoming Petrouchka and Beethoven concerts, visit /calendar/view.aspx?id=3692
Russian composer Igor Stravinsky is arguably the most important composer of the 20th century. Not only were his ideas new, complex and impressive to all who heard them, but his legacy as a musical risk-taker even landed him a spot as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people of the century. This weekend in … Continued
Dear Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Stravinsky and all of the other great composer “Gods”: I come to you a musical sinner. It has been … er… a while since my last confession. I have sinned because I have listened to a variety of Top 40 radio stations every day for a really long time, and, well, um … Continued