May 7, 8 & 9, 2021
Mozart + Piazzolla’s Four Seasons
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Concertmaster Yoonshin Song lights up Jones Hall with Astor Piazzolla’s showstopping, tango-infused response to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and the Symphony’s Jonathan Fischer, Mark Nuccio, Rian Craypo, and William VerMeulen are featured in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major. Plus, hear Gabriela Lena Frank’s thrilling Escaramuza (“Skirmish”), inspired by the dance music of Andean Peru, and majestic music of Gabrieli, spotlighting the Symphony’s brass section.
Due to social distancing requirements, if you are purchasing a single (1) in-hall ticket or for a group of 3+, please call the Patron Services Center at 713.224.7575 or email patronservices@houstonsymphony.org to purchase your ticket(s).
How to View the Concert Livestream Video
On the day before the concert, you will receive a new email with a link to the video. If you purchase a ticket after Friday evening, the link will be in your confirmation email. We recommend you access the link at least 10 minutes before the concert begins. If you do not receive the email with the link by 3 p.m. on the day of the concert, please contact our Patron Services Center at patronservices@houstonsymphony.org or 713.224.7575. Livestream FAQs
Single tickets $20, or save 25% with a livestream package – view details here {|with_image|:[{|type|:|custom|,|name|:|David Robertson|,|bio|:|David Robertson \u2013 conductor, artist, thinker, American musical visionary \u2013 occupies the most prominent podiums in opera, orchestral, and new music.\u00a0 He is a champion of contemporary composers, and an ingenious and adventurous programmer.\u00a0 Robertson has served in numerous artistic leadership positions, such as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, a transformative 13-year tenure as Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, with the Orchestre National de Lyon, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and as prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of Pierre Boulez, the Ensemble InterContemporain.\u00a0 He appears with the world\u2019s great orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and many major European, Asian, North and South American ensembles and festivals.\u00a0 Since his 1996 Metropolitan Opera debut, Robertson has conducted a breathtaking range of Met projects, including the 2019-20 season opening premiere production of\u00a0Porgy and Bess, for which he shared a Grammy Award, Best Opera Recording, in March 2021.\u00a0 Robertson serves as Director of Conducting Studies, Distinguished Visiting Faculty, of The Juilliard School.\n|,|title|:|conductor|,|small_image|:| \n |,|bio_image|:| \n |,|full_image|:| \n |},{|type|:|custom|,|name|:|Yoonshin Song |,|bio|:|Acclaimed as \u201ca wonderfully talented violinist\u2026whose sound and technique go well beyond her years,\u201d violinist, Yoonshin Song was born in South Korea, where she began her musical studies at age 5. Making her solo debut with the Seoul Philharmonic at age 11, she has since built a successful performing career throughout Korea, the United States, and Europe. In April 2019, the Houston Symphony named Yoonshin as its new concertmaster beginning in August 2019. From 2012 to 2019, she was the concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where she has enjoyed close collaborations with inspiring guest artists such as Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell, and Jamie Laredo.\nYoonshin has earned many prestigious prizes throughout her career, including top prize awards in the Lipizer International Violin Competition in Italy; the Lipinski & Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poland; the Henry Marteau International Violin Competition in Germany; and first prize at the Stradivarius International Competition in the United States. In her native South Korea, Yoonshin has won virtually all of the major violin competitions.\nAs a soloist, she has performed with many orchestras around the world, including the Houston Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Utah Symphony, the New Mexico Philharmonic Orchestra,the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, the Paul Constantinescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the KBS Philharmonic Orchestra. She has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in numerous music festivals, including the Marlboro, Deer Valley, Great Lakes, and Aspen music festivals in the United States; the Miyazaki Chamber Music Festival in Japan; and the Verbier, Lucerne, and Bayreuth festivals in Europe. Her engagements as a soloist throughout next season include concertos by Beethoven, Mozart, Shostakovich, and Bruch.\n|,|title|:|concertmaster|,|small_image|:| \n |,|bio_image|:| \n |,|full_image|:| \n |},{|type|:|custom|,|name|:|Jonathan Fischer|,|bio|:|Jonathan Fischer joined the Houston Symphony as principal oboe in September 2012 and was invited to join the faculty of the University of Houston in September 2014. Prior to his appointment with the Houston Symphony, Fischer served as associate principal oboe with the San Francisco Symphony for nine seasons. He has also held positions with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Savannah Symphony, and the New World Symphony. Fischer has performed as a guest principal with many of the nation\u2019s leading orchestras including the Boston, Chicago, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the St. Louis and Atlanta Symphonies, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, Grant Park Symphony, New World Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony.\nFischer currently teaches at the University of Houston\u2019s Moores School of Music and Texas Music Festival. He has taught and performed at the Aspen Music Festival and the Oberlin Conservatory. He has given masterclasses at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, the San Francisco Conservatory, Rice University, and University of Michigan, and has been a coach at the New World Symphony. He holds a degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Richard Woodhams.\nA native of South Carolina, Fischer now enjoys living in the Heights with his dog, a Louisiana Catahoula mix.\n|,|title|:|Principal Oboe|,|small_image|:| \n |,|bio_image|:| \n |,|full_image|:| \n |},{|type|:|custom|,|name|:|Mark Nuccio|,|bio|:|Mark Nuccio began his position as principal clarinet with the Houston Symphony in the 2016\u201317 season after 17 years with the New York Philharmonic. He also serves as clarinet faculties at both Northwestern University in Chicago and the University of Houston\u2019s Moores School of Music. Nuccio joined the New York Philharmonic in 1999 as Associate Principal and Solo E-flat Clarinetist and served as Acting principal Clarinet with the New York Philharmonic from 2009 to 2013. Prior to his tenure in New York, he held positions with orchestras in Pittsburgh, Denver, Savannah, and Florida, working with distinguished conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Mariss Jansons, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Erich Leinsdorf, Bernard Haitink, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Andr\u00e9 Previn, Christoph von Dohn\u00e1nyi, and Gustavo Dudamel. A Colorado native, Nuccio was recently awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, the University of Northern Colorado. He also holds a master\u2019s degree from Northwestern University where he studied with renowned pedagogue Robert Marcellus.\n|,|title|:|Principal Clarinet|,|small_image|:| \n |,|bio_image|:| \n |,|full_image|:| \n |},{|type|:|custom|,|name|:|Rian Craypo |,|bio|:|Principal bassoonist Rian Craypo has been with the Houston Symphony since 2007. Born in Virginia, she moved to Texas at 10 months of age and grew up east of Austin in a small intentional community.\nAfter studying at the University of Texas at Austin with Kristin Wolfe Jensen, she attended Rice University, where she received her master\u2019s degree under former Houston Symphony Principal Bassoon Benjamin Kamins.\nIn 2001, she was awarded a Federation of German\/American Clubs Scholarship, which led to a year of study and performances in Germany and was a finalist in the Gillet-Fox International Bassoon Competition in both 2004 and 2006. Rian serves on the board of MOTHS (Musicians of the Houston Symphony) which presents Houston Symphony musicians several times a year in intimate and engaging chamber settings. Rian is also the author of a book about bassoon reed making, published in 2017. She and her husband Sean have three children.\n|,|title|:|Principal Bassoon |,|small_image|:| \n |,|bio_image|:| \n |,|full_image|:| \n |},{|type|:|custom|,|name|:|William VerMeulen|,|bio|:|Hailed as \u201cone of today\u2019s superstars of the international brass scene,\u201d William VerMeulen leads a varied musical life of soloist, orchestral principal, chamber musician, master teacher, and music publisher. VerMeulen has been principal horn of the Houston Symphony since 1990 and has performed as a guest principal horn with the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Prior to joining the Houston Symphony, he was employed with the orchestras of Columbus, Honolulu, and Kansas City.\nVerMeulen has been an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and participates as a performer and on faculty with the finest music festivals and chamber music presenters, among which include the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Aspen Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Banff Centre, Da Camera of Houston, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Joshua Bell and Friends, Tanglewood, Sarasota Music Festival, Strings Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, New World Symphony, Domaine Forget, Chamber Music Northwest, and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony where he also serves as principal horn.\nVerMeulen has performed to critical acclaim on four continents as a soloist and chamber musician and is a popular artist at International Horn Society Symposiums where he was a member of the advisory council. He serves as a board member of the International Horn Competition of America. Along with the dozens of orchestral recordings in his discography are numerous solo and chamber recordings, including the complete Mozart Horn Concerti with Christoph Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony,\u00a0Texas Horns\u00a0featuring the Dallas and Houston horn sections, and \u201cThe Christmas Horn\u201d which features VerMeulen combined with his students from Rice University, conducted by Dale Clevenger. He has recorded live the Brahms Trio op. 40, Mozart Quintet K. 407, Beethoven Septet, Ravel Tombeau de Couperin for wind quintet, Schubert Octet, Spohr Nonet, Ligeti Bagatelles, and the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 1. A champion of new music, VerMeulen has had numerous pieces written for him including concerti by esteemed American composers Samuel Adler, Pierre Jalbert, Tony DiLorenzo, and the horn cantata \u201cCanticum Sacrum\u201d by Robert Bradshaw. He recorded the Canto XI by Samuel Adler for a CD called\u00a0First Chairs. Among his awards and honors, VerMeulen received first prize at the 1980 International Horn Society Soloist Competition and the Shapiro Award for Most Outstanding Brass Player at the Tanglewood Festival.\nRegarded as one of the most influential horn teachers of all time, VerMeulen is a professor of horn at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and brass artist-in-residence at the Royal Conservatory of Music\u2019s Glenn Gould School. His students perform in numerous major orchestras throughout the world including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Canadian Brass, Cleveland Orchestra, and the San Francisco, Cincinnati, Montreal, St. Louis, Toronto, Detroit, Dallas, and Houston Symphonies. Over 250 positions of employment have been offered to his students. In 1985, he was invited to the White House to receive a Distinguished Teacher of America Certificate of Excellence from President Reagan and the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.\nVerMeulen received his training from Dale Clevenger at Northwestern University and the Interlochen Arts Academy and is founder and president of VerMeulen Music, L.L.C., which offers music and products for horn players worldwide at www.vermeulenmusic.com\nVerMeulen is married to Houston Opera and Ballet violinist Sylvia VerMeulen, and they have two lovely children, Michael and Nicole. In his rare free time, he enjoys having good friends over to share in his passion for fine cooking and wine.\n|,|title|:|Principal Horn|,|small_image|:| \n |,|bio_image|:| \n |,|full_image|:| \n |}],|without|:[]}
GABRIELI/KING Canzon Septimi Toni No. 2 from Sacrae Symphoniae
GABRIELI/KING Canzona Per Sonare No. 2
MOZART Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major
G. L. FRANK Escaramuza
PIAZZOLLA/L. DESYATNIKOV Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)
