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A sonic wonder unlike anything else in music: dive into new worlds as Music Director Juraj Valčuha leads Mahler’s cosmic, beyond-epic Symphony No. 3. Immense even by Mahler’s standards, and probing secrets of nature, humanity, and the divine, nowhere else is Mahler’s declaration—“a symphony must be like the world. It must embrace everything”—more true. What to Expect: An epic, enthralling journey channeling the full sonic power of the Houston Symphony
See over 100 musicians pack the Jones Hall stage
Classical music novice? No problem. No prior knowledge is needed to enjoy this music, and one and all are welcome—as Mahler himself said, “you just have to bring along ears and a heart.” {|with_image|:[{|type|:|custom|,|name|:|Juraj Val\u010duha|,|bio|:|Houston Symphony Music Director Juraj Val\u010duha is recognized for his effortless expressiveness and depth of musicianship. With sharp baton technique and natural stage presence, the impressive ease of his interpretations translates even the most complex scores into immersive experiences.\nBefore joining the Houston Symphony in June 2022, Juraj was Music Director of the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, from 2016 to 2022 and first guest conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He was Chief Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai from 2009 to 2016.\nThe 2005\u201306 Season marked the start of his international career on the podium of the Orchestre National de France followed by remarkable debuts in the United Kingdom with the Philharmonia London, in Germany with the Munich Philharmonic, in the United States with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and in Italy with Puccini’s La boh\u00e8me in Bologna.\nHe has since led the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Maggio Musicale in Florence, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Rome, Milan’s Filarmonica della Scala, Montr\u00e9al Symphony, and the NHK and Yomiuri orchestras in Tokyo.\nHe enjoys regular collaborations with the Minnesota Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony. International touring with the Orchestra Sinfonica della Rai took them to the Musikverein in Vienna and Philharmonie in Berlin, Cologne, D\u00fcsseldorf, Zurich, Munich, to the Enesco Festival in Bucharest, and the Abu Dhabi Classics. With the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, he visited Riga, Vilnius, and Tallinn to mark the 100th anniversary of the Baltic nations.\nIn Europe, he is acclaimed on the podium of the Munich Philharmonic, the NDR Hamburg and Frankfurt Radio orchestras, as well as the Vienna Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, BBC Symphony and Philharmonia London, and the Swedish Radio Orchestra.\nJuraj champions the compositions of living composers and aims to program contemporary pieces in most of his concerts. He has conducted world premieres, including Christopher Rouse\u2019s Supplica with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Steven Mackey\u2019s violin concerto with Leila Josefowicz and the BBC Symphony in Manchester, and Nico Muhly\u2019s Bright Idea with the Houston Symphony. In 2005, he conducted, in the presence of the composer, Steve Reich\u2019s Four Seasons at the Melos-Ethos Festival in Bratislava. Other composers he has supported and continues to follow with interest are Bryce Dessner, Steven Stucky, Andrew Norman, James MacMillan, Luca Francesconi, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Anna Clyne, Julia Wolfe and Jessie Montgomery, among others.\nIncluding his engagements in Houston, the 2023\u201324 Season took him to the Pittsburgh and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, San Francisco Symphony, and Minnesota Orchestra as well as to the Yomiuri Nippon Orchestra in Tokyo. On the European stage, he performed Fanciulla del West and Tristan and Isolde at the Bavarian State Opera and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Jenufa at the Opera di Roma. He led concerts with the RAI Orchestra, the Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, the Orchestre National de France, the NDR, SWR, and the Bamberg Symphony, among others.\nIn the 2024\u20132025 Season Juraj will join the Semperoper in Dresden with Strauss\u00b4 Salom\u00e9 as well as the Paris Op\u00e9ra Bastille with Janacek\u00b4s The Cunning Little Vixen and the Deutsche Oper Berlin with Tchaikovsky\u00b4s Pique Dame. In the coming months, in addition to his concerts with the Houston Symphony, he will return to the Munich Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de France, the London Philharmonic, the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchester, the San Francisco Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the Yomiuri Nippon Orchestra in Tokyo.\nBorn in Bratislava, Slovakia, Juraj studied composition and conducting in his birthplace, then at the conservatory in St. Petersburg (with Ilya Musin), and finally, at the Conservatoire Sup\u00e9rieur de la Musique in Paris.\n|,|title|:|conductor|,|small_image|:| \n |,|bio_image|:| \n |,|full_image|:| \n |},{|type|:|custom|,|name|:|Marina Prudenskaya|,|bio|:|Marina Prudenskaya studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and began her career at the Stanislavski Theatre in Moscow. After engagements at Staatstheater N\u00fcrnberg, she was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (2005\u201307) and the Staatsoper Stuttgart (2007\u201313). Since 2013, she has been an ensemble member at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, where she has performed roles such as Herodias (Salome), Venus (Tannh\u00e4user), Composer (Ariadne auf Naxos), Marfa (Khovanshchina), Eboli (Don Carlos), Azucena (Il Trovatore), Ortrud (Lohengrin), Octavian (Rosenkavalier), and Euphrates (Babylon).\nShe has appeared as a guest at major opera houses worldwide, including Royal Opera House Covent Garden (Azucena, Fricka), Vienna State Opera (Herodias, Mescalina), Teatro Real Madrid, Zurich Opera House (Eboli), Bavarian State Opera (Octavian), Op\u00e9ra de Paris (Kundry), Grand Th\u00e9\u00e2tre de Gen\u00e8ve (Amneris), Washington National Opera, as well as at the Bayreuth Festival (Fricka, Waltraute) and the Festival d\u2019Aix-en-Provence.\nShe has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Philippe Jordan, Christian Thielemann, Mariss Jansons, Fabio Luisi, Marek Janowski, Simone Young, Daniel Harding, Hartmut Haenchen, and Pl\u00e1cido Domingo.\nAs a sought-after concert singer, her highlights include Verdi\u2019s Requiem with the Berlin Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons (Salzburg Easter Festival), Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s Glagolitic Mass with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Philippe Jordan (Vienna Konzerthaus), Mahler\u2019s Das Lied von der Erde with Vladimir Jurowski (Moscow Philharmonic), and Berlioz\u2019s Les nuits d\u2019\u00e9t\u00e9 and Verdi\u2019s Messa da Requiem with Marek Janowski (Dresden Philharmonic, RSB Berlin). She has also performed at Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Musikverein Vienna, and Th\u00e9\u00e2tre des Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es.\nHighlights of the 2024\u201325 season include Fenena (Nabucco) at Staatsoper Berlin, her debut as the Nurse (Die Frau ohne Schatten) at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Fricka (Die Walk\u00fcre) at ROH London, as well as concert engagements in Boston, Houston, Leipzig, and Dresden.\n|,|title|:|mezzo-soprano|,|small_image|:| \n |,|bio_image|:| \n |,|full_image|:| \n |},{|type|:|custom|,|name|:|Sopranos and Altos of The Houston Symphony Chorus|,|bio|:|The Houston Symphony Chorus is one of Houston\u2019s oldest and most distinguished musical organizations.\nOver the years, the Chorus has sung with dozens of the world\u2019s most notable conductors, including Andr\u00e9s Orozco-Estrada, Steven Reineke, Michael Krajewski, Robert Shaw, Andr\u00e9 Previn, Leopold Stokowski, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir John Barbirolli, Ferenc Fricsay, Lawrence Foster, and Hans Graf, to name only a very few.\nIn addition to performances in Jones Hall, the Symphony\u2019s home venue, the Chorus has also delighted audiences in various concert halls throughout the United States, Europe, and Mexico.\nRecent reactions to its performances include:\nClassical\/Chorus: \u201c\u2026beautifully balanced, modulated sound that seamlessly blended with the orchestra.\u201d\n\u2014Review of\u00a0A German Requiem, Houston Chronicle, May 8, 2018\nClassical\/Chorus: \u201c\u2026 the chorus was magnificent.\u201d\n\u2014Review of\u00a0Stabat Mater, Houston Chronicle, September 27, 2018\nThe Chorus consists entirely of volunteer singers who have considerable musical skill, vocal talent, and choral experience. They audition for placement each year.\u00a0 The Chorus performance schedule is possibly the busiest in the country, consisting of up to fourteen different sets of repertoire for a total of 45 concerts.\n|,|title|:||,|small_image|:| \n |,|bio_image|:| \n |,|full_image|:| \n |},{|type|:|custom|,|name|:|Houston Children's Chorus|,|bio|:|The Houston Children\u2019s Chorus was founded in 1989 by Director Stephen Roddy. More than 325 children in grades two through eight are enrolled in Chorus activities, including a Music in The Schools program for inner-city schools that cannot afford a music teacher. The Chorus represents the diverse cultures of Houston, and performs at numerous civic events throughout the year. It has been featured with the Houston Symphony, Houston Symphony POPS, Masterworks Chorus, Houston Choral Society, and Rice University Chorale. Along with President George H. W. Bush, the Chorus was featured on Glad Tidings, a recording of the Houston Symphony POPS.\nThe Houston Children\u2019s Chorus has performed for the U.S. President on 34 occasions and was featured in the national broadcast of the Celebration of the Life of Barbara Bush. Favorite performances include the recording of the Blue Bell Ice Cream commercial, a concert with Celine Dion, the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Super Bowl with Josh Groban, the premiere of a major commissioned work at Carnegie Hall, and most recently, the world premiere of the opera, Can We Know the Sound of Forgiveness by internationally recognized composer, Gabriela Ortiz.\n|,|title|:|Stephen Roddy, founder and director|,|small_image|:| \n |,|bio_image|:| \n |,|full_image|:| \n |}],|without|:[]}
MAHLER Symphony No. 3