Two pieces at Houstonia Magazine this week: the first, a review of Houston Grand Opera’s Abduction from the Seraglio in which Ryan Speedo Green stole the show, and the second, an interview with Gabriela Lena Frank about the world premiere of her Conquest Requiem this weekend with the Houston Symphony.
Timpani Dreams
The Houston Symphony went to Italy with the Pines of Rome, a piece that is nothing without the timpani. Read my review at Bachtrack.
Found: Lost Cello Concerto
But perhaps it was lost for a reason. Read my review at Bachtrack of Houston Symphony’s ambitious revival of Mario Castelnuovo-Tenesco’s Cello Concerto, remarkable for its unearthing at least.
Impersonal Mendelssohn/Personal Tchaikovsky
On Thursday at the Houston Symphony, it was a mixed bag. Whether or not concerto soloists use sheet music in performance is up for debate, but it always just gives me the impression that they weren’t ready. Read my review at Bachtrack.
Yo-Yo Ma
I really can’t express what an inspiration it was to hear Yo-Yo Ma perform. You read about these prodigies, but seeing is believing. Read my review at Bachtrack.
PS: For all those curious audience members, his serene encore was the “Appalachia Waltz” by Mark O’Connor. If you have chance, check out their collaborative album of the same name.
Emperor at Houston Symphony
If I had to choose just one piece of music to listen to for the rest of my life, Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto might be it. It’s the human experience, majestic and honest. At the Houston Symphony on Thursday, it was less than perfect, but pianist Behzod Aduraimov wasn’t to blame. Read my review at Bachtrack.
A Nostalgic Creation…
..at Houston Symphony this weekend. Read my review at Bachtrack.
And last night, the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra delivered an astounding concert. It’s getting more and more rare that I’ll hear a piece of music and fall in love with it, but their performance of Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra was out. of. this. world.
Houston Symphony is off and running
The Houston Symphony opened its season with a curious trio of work, but I have no complaints about Sir Ben Kingsley narrating Peter and the Wolf. Read my review at Bachtrack.
Weekend Music: Rusalka and Schumann
I readily admit I was a big fan of the Little Mermaid when I was young–not just the Disney film but the darker, unhappier fairytale versions too. Houston Grand Opera’s Rusalka brought the fairytale happily into my adulthood on Friday. Saturday night was a mixed bag at Jones Hall. I don’t expect I’ll hear anyone play Schumann’s violin concerto again any time soon, and I’m not sure I mind.
Read both of my reviews at Bachtrack: the opera; and the symphony.
Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Bartók at Houston Symphony
…And Augustin Hadelich, playing Bartók’s second violin concerto, took the cake. Read my review at Bachtrack.
