Celestial Music: Houston Symphony’s Composer in Residence Jimmy López Premieres New Work
Jimmy López got hooked on classical music when he was 12, thanks to J.S. Bach’s counterpoint.
Steven Brown
Defining Home: Da Camera’s 30th Season
Da Camera has flourished because of the entrepreneurial spirit and open-mindedness of its hometown of Houston, as general director Sarah Rothenberg will readily tell you.
From punk rockers to presidents: The rebels at ROCO announce new season
The conductor nearly chickened out. Planning the concert that will open the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra’s 2017-18 season, Vladimir Yampolsky suggested a rarity: the Symphony No. 2 by Kurt Weill of Threepenny Opera fame. Then he wavered.
Soli Chamber Ensemble Concludes Season Under the Ligurian Sun
The shift may not have been conscious, violinist Ertan Torgul says, but he sees it clearly. After 20-plus years of performing new music, San Antonio's Soli Chamber Ensemble is gravitating toward composers who bridge genres —mixing the classical tradition with jazz, rock or whatever else resonates with them. To them, music is music.
Houston Welcomes New Music Ensemble Loop38
Traditional tunes, rhythms and harmonies played no role. Instead, the chamber ensemble offered up an ever-shifting soundscape of shimmers, glimmers, rustlings and wisps —Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s salute to the Northern Lights.
Small But Mighty: Fort Worth Opera Moves Forward With World Premiere
Belt-tightening is all too familiar in the arts, but it doesn’t mean a group’s vision has to fade away.
Young & Outstanding: Houston’s WindSync & Kinetic Team Up
WindSync seems plenty youthful when you look at a photo, but let’s take another vantage point. The Houston quintet spends about 120 days a year on the road -- hardly the mark of a fledgling group.
Houston Symphony’s Fidelio & a New Season
The heroics of Beethoven’s Fifth. The exuberance of his Ode to Joy. The humor of his First Symphony. The drama of his Eroica. The Houston Symphony and Andrés Orozco-Estrada have embraced all that and more since they launched their Beethoven symphony cycle in 2015.
Mass Effect: Orchestra of New Spain Revisits Classic Courcelle Composition
Francisco Courcelle may not rank as a big-name composer. But his Misa Ave Maris Stella, a dramatic chorus-and-orchestra work from 1750, has become a go-to piece for Dallas’ Orchestra of New Spain.
Electrifying Heroines and Cherished Classics: HGO’s New Season
They rank among opera’s most electrifying heroines, yet Houston hasn’t felt their wallop for more than 25 years. Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma, a Druid priestess, sacrifices herself on a pyre to atone for her secret marriage to a Roman. Richard Strauss’ Elektra descends into madness as despair and rage over her father’s slaying consume her.
It Happened in Texas: Nixon In China Returns to HGO
The U.S. presidential election looms, and the politician has planned his trip for maximum media impact. He’s a divisive figure, with ideas that could revolutionize the world order. Cameras track his plane’s arrival, and when he steps out, legions of television viewers are watching him. He knows that, and he has every intention of capitalizing on it.
Musical Evangelists: Houston Symphony’s Embedded Musicians Engage the Community
David Connor lets his double bass rest on the floor. Cradling an iPad and speaker in his arms, he circulates through the classroom as jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald cuts loose onscreen in It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing.