Houston Symphony Magazine- September 2012

Page 1






Contents

••

Official Program Magazine of the Houston Symphony 615 Louisiana, Suite 102, Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 224-4240 • www.houstonsymphony.org

September • 2012

Programs 12 August 31, September 1, 2 18 September 8 22 September 9 25 September 14, 15, 16 26 September 20, 22, 23 28 September 28, 29, 30

On Stage and Off

25

5 Credits 39 Donors 8 Hans Graf 36 Houston Symphony Chorus 38 Endowment Trust 10 Letter to Patrons 4 Orchestra and Staff 37 Symphony Society 10 New Century Society 9 Auditions: Making an Orchestra

This month, Hans Graf and the Symphony bring you the Best of Brahms! You can hear Johannes Brahms’ most beloved works combined into five programs over three weekends. It all starts on page 25.

18

Hans Graf’s final Opening Night with the Houston Symphony includes solo performances of six Houston Symphony musicians.

Features 48 Backstage Pass 16 Opening Night 6 Save the Date 24 Upcoming Performances

6 Cover photo by Bruce Bennett. On the cover: Houston Symphony

F or advertising contact New Leaf Publishing at (713) 523-5323 info@newleafinc.com • www.newleafinc.com • 2006 Huldy, Houston, Texas 77019 The Houston Symphony currently records under its own label, Houston Symphony Media Productions, and for Naxos. Houston Symphony recordings also are available on the Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and Koch International Classics labels.

Acknowledgements

The Official Airline of the Houston Symphony

www.houstonsymphony.org

The Official Health Care Provider of the Houston Symphony

The Symphony’s event schedule has been announced! Page 6 has all the dates, so mark your calendars and join us for this exciting season!



Orchestra and Staff. .......................................................................................... Hans Graf, Music Director

Mark C. Hanson, Executive Director/CEO

Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair Michael Krajewski,

Robert Franz,

Principal Pops Conductor

Associate Conductor

Sponsor, Cameron Management

Sponsor, Beth Madison

First Violin: Frank Huang, Concertmaster Max Levine Chair Eric Halen, Associate Concertmaster Ellen E. Kelley Chair Assia Dulgerska, Assistant Concertmaster Cornelia and Meredith Long Chair Qi Ming, Assistant Concertmaster Fondren Foundation Chair Marina Brubaker, Hewlett-Packard Company Chair Alexandra Adkins MiHee Chung Sophia Silivos Rodica Gonzalez Ferenc Illenyi Si-Yang Lao Kurt Johnson Christopher Neal Sergei Galperin

double Bass: David Malone, Acting Principal Eric Larson, Acting Associate Principal Mark Shapiro Robert Pastorek Burke Shaw Donald Howey Michael McMurray

Second Violin: Jennifer Owen, Principal Tina Zhang, Associate Principal Hitai Lee Kiju Joh Mihaela Oancea-Frusina Ruth Zeger Margaret Bragg Martha Chapman Kevin Kelly Tong Yan Christine Pastorek Amy Teare Sarah Ludwig*

Oboe: Jonathan Fischer, Principal Lucy Binyon Stude Chair Anne Leek, Associate Principal Colin Gatwood Adam Dinitz

Viola: Wayne Brooks, Principal Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Legacy Society Chair Joan DerHovsepian, Associate Principal George Pascal, Assistant Principal Wei Jiang Linda Goldstein Sheldon Person Fay Shapiro Daniel Strba Mr. and Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Chair Thomas Molloy Phyllis Herdliska Cello: Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Janice and Thomas Barrow Chair Christopher French, Associate Principal Haeri Ju** Jeffrey Butler Kevin Dvorak Xiao Wong Myung Soon Lee James R. Denton Anthony Kitai Hellen Weberpal*

Flute: Aralee Dorough, Principal General Maurice Hirsch Chair John Thorne, Associate Principal** Judy Dines, Acting Associate Principal Allison Jewett** Gina Hughes* Rebecca Powell Garfield* Piccolo: Allison Jewett** Rebecca Powell Garfield*

English Horn: Adam Dinitz Clarinet: David Peck, Principal Thomas LeGrand, Associate Principal Christian Schubert Alexander Potiomkin*** E-Flat Clarinet: Thomas LeGrand Bass Clarinet: Alexander Potiomkin*** Tassie and Constantine S. Nicandros Chair Bassoon: Rian Craypo, Principal Stewart Orton Chair Eric Arbiter, Associate Principal American General Chair Elise Wagner J. Jeff Robinson** Benjamin Atherholt* Contrabassoon: J. Jeff Robinson** Benjamin Atherholt* Horn: William VerMeulen, Principal Robert Johnson, Acting Associate Principal* Brian Thomas Robert and Janice McNair Foundation Chair Nancy Goodearl Julie Thayer** Wade Butin* Steinway is the official piano of the Houston Symphony. James B. Kozak, Piano Technician. Local assistance is provided by Forshey Piano Co. The Houston Symphony’s concert piano is a gift of Mrs. Helen B. Rosenbaum.

www.houstonsymphony.org

Trumpet: Mark Hughes, Principal George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Chair John DeWitt, Associate Principal Robert Walp, Assistant Principal Anthony Prisk Speros P. Martel Chair Trombone: Allen Barnhill, Principal Bradley White, Associate Principal Phillip Freeman Bass Trombone: Phillip Freeman Tuba: Dave Kirk, Principal Timpani: Ronald Holdman, Principal Brian Del Signore, Associate Principal Percussion: Brian Del Signore, Principal Mark Griffith Matthew Strauss Harp: Paula Page, Principal Keyboard: Scott Holshouser, Principal Neva Watkins West Chair Orchestra Personnel Manager: Steve Wenig Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager: Michael Gorman Librarian: Thomas Takaro Assistant LibrarianS: Erik Gronfor Michael McMurray Stage Manager: Donald Ray Jackson Assistant Stage Manager: Kelly Morgan Stage Technician: Toby Blunt Zoltan Fabry Cory Grant *Contracted Substitute **Leave of Absence ***Regular Substitute

Martha GarcĂ­a, Assistant to the Executive Director Meg Philpot, Director of Human Resources Amanda Tozzi, Director, Executive Operations Steve Wenig, Director, Community Partnerships

Steven Brosvik, General Manager Roger Daily, Director, Music Matters! Kristin L. Johnson, Director, Operations and Production Allison Conlan, Music Matters! Coordinator Michael Gorman, Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager Donald Ray Jackson, Stage Manager Kelly Morgan, Assistant Stage Manager Meredith Williams, Operations Manager Michael D. Pawson, Chief Financial Officer Sally Brassow, Controller Philip Gulla, Director, Technology Amed Hamila, Director, Database Support Heather Fails, Manager, Ticketing Database Janis Pease LaRocque, Manager, Patron Database Kay Middleton, Receptionist Maria Ross, Payroll Manager Armin (A.J.) Salge, Network Systems Engineer Chris Westerfelt, Manager, Accounts Payable and Special Projects

Aurelie Desmarais, Senior Director, Artistic Planning Merle N. Bratlie, Director, Artist Services Lesley Sabol, Director, Popular Programming Thomas Takaro, Librarian Sarah Berggren, Chorus Manager Erik Gronfor, Assistant Librarian Michael McMurray, Assistant Librarian Rebecca Zabinski, Artistic Associate

Glenn Taylor, Senior Director, Marketing Melissa H. Lopez, Director of Marketing, Single Tickets and Group Sales Carlos Vicente, Director of Marketing, Subscriptions and Digital Media/Creative Services Jenny Zuniga, Director, Patron Services Jeff Gilmer, Patron Services Coordinator, Group Sales/ Ticket Inventory Jason Landry, Senior Manager, Patron Services Georgia McBride, Assistant Marketing Manager, Digital Media/Young Audience Engagement Erin Mushalla, Assistant Marketing Manager, Single Tickets Sarah Rendon, Patron Services Representative Derrick Rose, Marketing Coordinator, Group Sales and Promotions Courtney Ryan, Graphic Designer

Jennifer R. Mire, Senior Director, Communications Holly Cassard, Manager, Communications Clair Studdard, Assistant, Communications

David Chambers, Chief Development Officer Stephanie Jones, Senior Director, Events and League Relations Mark Folkes, Director, Individual Giving and Major Gifts Vickie Hamley, Director, Volunteer Services Brandon VanWaeyenberghe, Director, Corporate Relations Peter Yenne, Director, Foundation Relations and Development Communications Darryl de Mello, Annual Fund Manager Jessica Ford, Gifts Officer Jennifer Martin, Institutional Giving Coordinator Irma Molina, Development Assistant, Gifts and Records Nicole Peralta, Associate Director, Events Sarah Beth Seifert, Manager, Events Sarah Slemmons, Patron Donor Relations Manager Lena Streetman, Manager, Prospect Research


Credits...........................

Mark C. Hanson Executive Director/CEO Holly Cassard Editor Carl Cunningham Program Annotator Elaine Reeder Mayo Editorial Consultant

www.newleafinc.com (713) 523-5323 Janet Meyer Publisher janetmeyer@newleafinc.com Keith Gumney Art Director kgumney@newleafinc.com Jennifer Greenberg Projects Director jenniferg@newleafinc.com Frances Powell Account Executive divascenes@aol.com Tricia George Account Executive Carey Clark CC Catalyst Communications Marlene Walker Walker Media LLC The activities and projects of the Houston Symphony are funded in part by grants from the City of Houston, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Texas Commission on the Arts. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion at The Woodlands is the Summer Home of the Houston Symphony. Digital pre-media services by Vertis APS Houston Contents copyright Š 2012 by the Houston Symphony

LATE SEATING In consideration of audience members, the Houston Symphony makes every effort to begin concerts on time. Ushers will assist with late seating at pre-designated intervals. You may be asked to sit in a location other than your ticketed seat until the end of that portion of the concert. You will be able to move to your ticketed seat at the concert break. CHILDREN AT CONCERTS In consideration of our patrons, we ask that children be 6 years and older to attend Houston Symphony concerts. Children of all ages, including infants, are admitted to Family Concerts. Any child over age 1 must have a ticket for those performances. CAMERAS, RECORDERS, CELL PHONES & PAGERS Cameras and recorders are not permitted in the hall. Patrons may not use any device to record or photograph performances. Please silence cell phones, pagers and alarm watches and refrain from texting during performances. September 2012


photos by Jenny Antill, Michelle Watson/CatchLight Group, Kim Coffman

Save the Date.....................................................................................................

Join us for these celebrations throughout the year! SAVE THE DATES Houston Symphony Opening Night with Boléro Concert and Dinner – The Perfect Evening! Saturday, September 8, 2012

Houston Symphony Magical Musical Morning Sunday, December 2, 2012

Vintage Virtuoso

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Houston Symphony Ball Friday, March 8, 2013

Houston Symphony League Children’s Fashion Show and Luncheon Sunday, April 21, 2013

Maestro’s Wine Dinner and Collector’s Auction Sunday, May 19, 2013

For information on any of these special events that provide important support for the Houston Symphony, contact our Special Events Team at: (713) 238-1485 or specialevents@houstonsymphony.org.

Exclusive Print Media Sponsor, Special Events

www.houstonsymphony.org



Hans Graf Biography.......................................................................................... Photo by Sandy Lankford

Known for his wide range of repertoire and creative programming, distinguished Austrian conductor Hans Graf—the Houston Symphony’s 15th Music Director—is one of today’s most highly respected musicians. He began his tenure here on Opening Night of the 2001-2002 season. Prior to his appointment in Houston, he was music director of the Calgary Philharmonic, the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra and the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra. A frequent guest with all of the major North American orchestras, Graf has developed a close relationship with the Boston Symphony and appears regularly with the orchestra during the subscription season and at the Tanglewood Music Festival. He made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Houston Symphony in January 2006 and returned leading the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in March 2007. He and the Houston Symphony were invited to appear at Carnegie Hall in January 2010 to present the New York premiere of The Planets—An HD Odyssey and returned in May 2012, to participate in Carnegie’s Spring for Music Festival. Internationally, Graf conducts in the foremost concert halls of Europe, Japan and Australia. In June 2012, he and the Houston Symphony became the first American orchestra ever to perform at the Festival of the World’s Symphony Orchestras in Moscow, Russia. He also led the Houston Symphony on a tour of the UK in October 2010 to present the international premiere of The Planets—An HD Odyssey. He has participated in the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bregenz, Aix en Provence and Salzburg Festivals. His U.S. festival appearances include Tanglewood, Blossom Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and the Grant Park Music Festival in downtown Chicago. An experienced opera conductor, Graf first conducted the Vienna State Opera in 1981 and has since led productions in the opera houses of Berlin, Munich, Paris and Rome, including several world premieres. Recent engagements include Parsifal at the Zurich Opera and Boris Godunov at the Opera National du Rhin in Strasbourg. Born in 1949 near Linz, Graf studied violin and piano as a child. He earned diplomas in piano and conducting from the Musikhochschule in Graz and continued his studies with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache and Arvid Jansons. His career was launched in 1979 when he was awarded first prize at the Karl Böhm Competition. His extensive discography includes recordings with the Houston Symphony, available through houstonsymphony.org: works by Bartók and Stravinsky, Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony, Berg’s Three Pieces from the Lyric Suite, a DVD of The Planets—An HD Odyssey and most recently, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. Graf has been awarded the Chevalier de l’ordre de la Legion d’Honneur by the French government for championing French music around the world and the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria. Hans and Margarita Graf have homes in Salzburg and Houston. They have one daughter, Anna, who lives in Vienna.

www.houstonsymphony.org


Auditions: Making an Orchestra.......................................................................

September 2012

© bruce bennett

Have you ever wondered how the musicians you see on stage week after week, performing your favorite musical works, came to their jobs here at the Houston Symphony? Job hunting for a musician is obviously a bit different than with other careers and actually very fascinating. Few hiring practices are as rigorous and demanding, and virtually none are as fair and just as the audition process. The Symphony’s Orchestra Personnel Manager, Steve Wenig, provides an inside look at how the talented men and women of the Houston Symphony are selected. “When there is a vacancy for a position in the orchestra and we’re ready to hold auditions for it, we post an advertisement on our website and in a special newspaper called the International Musician. This publication lists upcoming auditions from orchestras around the world. For instruments such as violin, there are typically 15 to 25 audition postings per month from both major symphony orchestras and from smaller regional orchestras as well. For instruments like tuba, there may be only two or three auditions per year. Musicians who are interested in auditioning then send a resume and hope to get invited to the audition. “In the meantime, we assemble an audition committee consisting of seven members of the orchestra and the music director. Some musicians automatically serve on the committee depending on their position, and others are nominated and voted on by their fellow musicians. Once formed, the committee decides what repertoire the candidates are to play when they come for the audition as well as decide which applicants to invite. For many auditions, all that apply are invited. Other audition committees discourage applicants from attending auditions based on their experience or the lack of experience listed on their resume. “Depending on the vacancy, sometimes an internal advancement audition is held. This gives current members of the orchestra a chance to move up or advance to the vacancy if they so choose before we hold national auditions. “When candidates are invited, the personnel department sends them more details about the audition. If they are still interested, they send a deposit to reserve a time. I am always impressed with how many musicians apply and audition for a single vacancy. For one of our last section violin auditions, we received 281 resumes. We scheduled approximately 100 violinists to play, and all of this was for only one position in the orchestra. Wow! What an example of just how high the caliber of musicians we have in this orchestra. Although many who audition are fine players, the standards for winning are unbelievably high.” Because of some of the successful auditions that occurred over the past year and a half, the Symphony welcomed four exceptional new members to the orchestra: Tina Zhang, second violin; Tong Yan, second violin; and Sheldon Person, viola, who all started last season, and Jonathan Fisher, principal oboe will start this season.


Letter to Patrons................................................................................................ Photo by Anthony Rathbun

Welcome back to the start of what will truly be a memorable year! Over the course of our most exciting season to date, Principal Pops Conductor Mike Krajewski will lead entertaining concerts featuring the popular music we know and love, while Hans Graf will inspire the orchestra and audience during his final performances as Music Director. As the longest-serving Music Director in our almost 100-year history, Maestro Graf has programmed a season full of highlights that capitalizes on the talent of our Houston Symphony musicians and his many friends throughout the classical music world. Maestro Graf’s tenure with us began on Opening Night September 15, 2001—four days after the 9/11 tragedy and three months after the floods of Tropical Storm Allison devastated the Symphony offices and the music library in Jones Hall. By the end of the 2012-13 season, he will have conducted the Houston Symphony in more than 400 performances; led us on three tours to Carnegie Hall; two appearances in Florida; a sell-out, seven-city tour in the United Kingdom and two concerts in Moscow, Russia. He has conducted three commercial CDs along with a handful of private releases. He has commissioned 11 pieces of music and championed the reintroduction of pieces from The Fanfare Project, a collection of 21 fanfares from American composers commissioned by the Houston Symphony for Texas’ sesquicentennial in 1986. We hope you will join us on September 8 for Maestro Graf’s final Opening Night concert, where we will kick off this celebratory season! That evening, six Houston Symphony musicians will be featured as soloists, an idea driven by Maestro Graf to spotlight the fine talent within our orchestra, followed by a jubilant performance of Maurice Ravel’s Boléro. After the concert, Opening Night Chairmen Linda and Gene Dewhurst and Co-Chairmen Fran Fawcett Peterson and Gloria Tenenbown have planned The Perfect Evening of dinner and dancing at The Corinthian. We will also recognize the generosity and support of Honorary Chairman Margaret Alkek Williams and Honorees Susan and Larry Kellner. September stays busy when Maestro Graf leads us into a new experience, entitled Best of Brahms! Over three weekends, patrons will get to hear five different programs that include beloved Brahms works like the Double Concerto, German Requiem, four symphonies and two piano concertos. This is the perfect opportunity to see Maestro Graf, the Houston Symphony’s own Concertmaster Frank Huang and Principal Cello Brinton Averil Smith perform on these weekends, as well as hear from old friends like pianists Garrick Ohlsson and Jonathan Biss and conductor John Storgårds. Don’t miss this exciting musical experience! Next month, we eagerly anticipate the return of Chinese pianist Lang Lang to Jones Hall on October 18, 20 and 21. Lang Lang will be taking on the extraordinary challenge of performing three different Beethoven concertos, a new one each night, over the course of just one weekend. Each performance will be different from the last! So please mark your calendars for what will surely be an unforgettable weekend of this remarkable season.

Robert A. Peiser President Photo by bruce bennett

Mark C. Hanson Executive Director/CEO

New Century Society........................................................................................ New Century Society for Artistic Excellence and Innovation The New Century Society for Artistic Excellence and Innovation recognizes the Houston Symphony’s most committed and loyal supporters who have pledged their leadership support over a three-year period to help secure the orchestra’s financial future. For more information or to pledge your support, please contact Mark Hanson, Executive Director/CEO, at (713) 238-1411 or David Chambers, Chief Development Officer, at (713) 337-8525. Mr. George P. Mitchell Bobby & Phoebe Tudor ◊ Lieutenant Governor & Mrs. David H. Dewhurst Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor ◊ Cora Sue & Harry Mach Joella & Steven P. Mach Nancy & Robert Peiser The Methodist Hospital ◊ Baker Botts L.L.P. 10 www.houstonsymphony.org



Biographies. ........................

Friday, August 31, 2012 8 pm Saturday, September 1, 2012 8 pm Sunday, September 2, 2012 7:30 pm Jones Hall

Sixties Hits with The Midtown Men Michael Krajewski, conductor The Midtown Men B. Mann-C. Weil-J. Leiber- M. Stoller/S. Reineke C. Albertine-L. Elgart-L. Elgart A rr. J. McDaniels-B. Horn/V. Vanacore Lennon-McCartney/ G. Maurer-K. Vork G. Gordon-A. Bonner/ Maurer-Vork S. Robinson-P. Moore- M. Tarplin-R. Rogers/ Maurer-Vork B. Gaudio-S. Linzer/ Maurer-Vork C. King-G. Goffin/Maurer-Vork R. Argent/Maurer-Vork B. Gaudio/McDaniel Gaudio-J. Parker/Maurer-Vork INTERMISSION Arr. T. Ricketts G. Weiss-H. Peretti- L. Creatore/B. Gaber B. Crewe-Gaudio/Maurer-Vork J. Phillips-M. Phillips/ Maurer-Vork Crewe-Gaudio/McDaniel Arr. Maurer-Vork P. Spector-J. Barry-E. Greenwich/ Maurer-Vork

On Broadway Bandstand Boogie Opener Can’t Buy Me Love Happy Together Ain’t That Peculiar?

Dawn (Go Away) Up On the Roof Time of the Season Cry For Me December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) Rockin’ With the Beach Boys Can’t Help Falling in Love Big Girls Don’t Cry/Sherry California Dreaming Can’t Take My Eyes Off You Motown Medley River Deep – Mountain High

Pops Presenting Sponsor Appearances by Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski are generously sponsored by Cameron Management.

12 www.houstonsymphony.org

Michael Krajewski, conductor

Photo by michael tammaro

Krajewski

POPS

Cynthia Woods Mitchell at Jones Hall

Much in demand as a conductor of symphonic pops, Michael Krajewski delights concertgoers with his imaginative and entertaining programs and wry sense of humor. Audiences leave his concerts smiling, remembering the evening’s music and surprises. He joined the Houston Symphony as principal pops conductor in 2000 and serves in this position at Jacksonville and Atlanta symphony orchestras – the first to hold such a title in Atlanta. As a guest conductor, Krajewski has performed with the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras; the Boston and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras; the San Francisco, Seattle and St. Louis Symphonies; and the Baltimore, Detroit, Indianapolis, Dallas and National Symphony Orchestras, among others. Internationally, he has led Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Edmonton and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra with concerts in Belfast and Dublin. Krajewski is the conductor of the video Silver Screen Serenade with violinist Jenny Oaks Baker that aired worldwide on BYU Broadcasting. He has led the Houston Symphony on two holiday albums: Glad Tidings and Christmas Festival. This season, he will conduct his original Sounds of Simon & Garfunkel program all over North America, including Houston in February 2013, featuring national touring artists AJ Swearingen and Jonathan Beedle. He has collaborated with an eclectic group of artists including flutist Sir James Galway, Marilyn Horne, Roberta Flack, Judy Collins, Art Garfunkel, Kenny Loggins, Ben Folds, Doc Severinsen, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Chieftains, Pink Martini, Cirque de la Symphonie, Classical Mystery Tour and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. With degrees from Wayne State University and the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music, Krajewski furthered his training at the Pierre Monteux Domaine School for Conductors and Orchestra Musicians.


.......................................... He was a Dorati Fellowship Conductor with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and later served as that orchestra’s assistant conductor. He was resident conductor of the Florida Symphony, and for 11 years served as music director of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. He lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife, Darcy. When not conducting, he enjoys travel, photography and solving crossword puzzles.

The Midtown Men

Hoff

This sensational production reunites four stars from the original cast of Broadway’s Jersey Boys. Tony Award-winner Christian Hoff, Michael Longoria, Daniel Reichard and Tony Award-nominee J. Robert Spencer, star in this one-of-a-kind concert experience celebrating the music that defined the ‘60s. This is the first time the principal cast of a high-profile musical has sky-rocketed as a new entity. During their time in the mega-hit musical Jersey Boys, these artists shared the stage for more than a thousand performances and delighted television audiences with appearances on The Today Show, The Late Show with David Letterman and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.

Christian Hoff, vocalist

Christian Hoff won a Tony Award for his performance as Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys, as well as a Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations. He was named “The Master of Mimicry” by Entertainment Weekly. His voice-over accomplishments have earned him notable success including ForeWord Magazine’s 2008 Audio Book of The Year, when his voicing of more than 200 characters surpassed the audio book world record. As the voice of Richie September 2012 13


Biographies continued.....................................................

Longoria Michael Longoria, vocalist

Michael Longoria is best known for his star turn on Broadway as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys. Hollywood born and Broadway bound, Longoria trained at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned a BFA in Drama. Longoria made his Broadway debut in the smash hit musical Hairspray (2003 Tony award for Best Musical), later creating the role of Joey in the original Broadway cast of Jersey Boys (2006 Tony for Best Musical) before assuming the role of Frankie Valli and taking his career to new heights. His television performances include Broadway Under The Stars: A Tribute To Harold Prince, The US Open and the ninth season finale of America’s Got Talent with Susan Boyle and Shakira. He recently performed in Atlantic City, portraying Joe Piscopo in That’s Life! 14 www.houstonsymphony.org

Other credits include Peter Pan in Peter Pan and Wendy at the Prince Music Theater, for which he earned a Barrymore Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical; Chino in West Side Story at the Walnut Street Theatre; Mark in A Chorus Line at Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center; and Chuck in Avenue X at the Abe Burrows Theater. In Europe, he performed the role of Paul in the German tour of A Chorus Line and Baby John in West Side Story at the famed Teatro alla Scala in Milan. As a singer-songwriter, Longoria has shared his one-of-a-kind talent at such venues as New York City’s CB’s Gallery, The Cutting Room, Joe’s Pub, The Knitting Factory and Carolines on Broadway.

Reichard

Rich in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, his voice-over career was launched and continues today with numerous audio books, television and radio campaigns. Theatrical highlights include the roles of Frank-N-Furter in the Los Angeles production of The Rocky Horror Show, King Herod in the national revival tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, Hugh Dorsey in the Los Angeles revival of Parade, George M. Cohan in George M!, Will Rogers in The Will Rogers Follies, Huck in Big River, and his Broadway debut in the Tony Award and Grammy® award-winning The Who’s Tommy. He recorded Grammy® awardwinning cast albums for Jersey Boys and The Who’s Tommy. On television, Hoff has guest starred on Law & Order: SVU, Ugly Betty and Law and Order: Criminal Intent and a number of other prominent shows, including the recurring role of Marty on All My Children. His independent film debut, Bad Dog and Superhero, was an official selection at the Brilliant Light International Film Festival of Los Angeles and won awards at the Calgary Fringe Festival and Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival, all in 2007. Hoff is a proud husband and a father of five.

Daniel Reichard, vocalist

Daniel Reichard, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, is best known for his portrayal of chief songwriter and original Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys, a role he originated both on Broadway and in the La Jolla Playhouse premiere. He followed Jersey Boys with a critically acclaimed performance as Candide in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide at the New York City Opera. After graduating with a BFA from the University of Michigan, Reichard made his New York City debut with the original cast in the world-famous Forbidden Broadway: 20th Anniversary Celebration. His signature style and enormous talent paved the way to starring roles in New York City and beyond, including his triumphant portrayal of artist and social activist, Keith Haring, in Radiant Baby at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater; Man in The Thing About Men, also performing on the cast album; and Emmet in the world premiere of the musical version of Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-band Christmas at the Goodspeed Opera House. As a concert singer, Reichard has had sold-out engagements at New York City’s Joe’s Pub, Metropolitan Room and Ars Nova. Other concert appearances include Symphony Space, The Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, BB King Blues Club, The Town Hall, Firebird and the Cutting Room, as well as appearances with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and the Grand Rapids Symphony. He can be seen as


.......................................... Frankie in the 2009 film version of the international hit musical comedy, Forever Plaid.

J. Robert Spencer, vocalist

J. Robert Spencer is a Tony Award-nominated actor, independent film director, producer and writer. In 2004, he originated the role of Nick Massi in Jersey Boys. In 2008, Spencer originated the role of Dan Goodman in the critically acclaimed Broadway production of Next To Normal, for which he was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor and a 200809 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.

Spencer As a voiceover artist, he has performed the lead voices for two Japanese animated features: Nightmare Campus and the critically acclaimed, award-winning Grave of the Fireflies. His performance as a psychopathic killer in the independent feature film Night of the Dog, earned him a Best Supporting Actor Nomination at the SMMASH Film Festival. In 2005, Spencer began his independent film company, 7 Spencer Productions, for which he produced, wrote, starred and directed his first feature comedy, Farm Girl In New York. Featured on The Today Show, it has been selected by the Sacramento International Film Festival (nominated for Best Comedy and Best Actress,) Big Apple Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Buffalo Niagara Film Festival and the Seattle True Independent Film Festival. He recently completed his second independent feature film, Heterosexuals. He is executive producer of an environmental documentary, On Coal River. His performance with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops in the PBS performances of Handel’s Messiah Rocks (Sony Masterworks), earned him a nomination for a 2010 Midwest Emmy Award for Best On-Camera Performance by a Leading Actor. Spencer is the 2009 recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Shenandoah University.

houstonsymphony.org September 2012 15


Houston Symphony Opening Night with Boléro Concert and Dinner.......... The Houston Symphony gives special thanks to the volunteers whose leadership has made this evening such a success: Linda and Gene Dewhurst, Chairmen, and Fran Fawcett Peterson and Gloria Tenenbown, Co-Chairmen. We gratefully acknowledge our Honorary Chairman Margaret Alkek Williams and Honorees Susan and Larry Kellner for their involvement and leadership support.

Margaret Alkek Williams Honorary Chairman Margaret Alkek Williams has two enduring passions – philanthropy and the performing arts. She has focused her talent and energy on those passions throughout her life. Her parents, Margaret and Albert Alkek, were the most influential people in her life. Growing up in Victoria, Texas, she learned from them a sense of responsibility for one’s community. They worked very hard in the family businesses and still found time to volunteer and support charitable organizations. It was her mother’s love of music and theatre that Williams has shared and cherished all of her life. She began her artistic career at the age of 5 with her first performance as Snow White. She performed as the principal in many musicals and operettas throughout her childhood. While in college, she was the principal singer in Hansel and Gretel, Amahl and the Night Visitors and Carousel. She later performed in Philadelphia with the Gilbert & Sullivan Society. After returning to Houston in 1960, she sang with the Houston Grand Opera Chorus in productions such as Turandot, La traviata and Romeo and Juliet. Over the years, she and her family have given millions of dollars to support the performing arts, education and medical research. She is known for her outstanding charitable work on behalf of non-profit organizations in Houston and across the state. Williams is currently the chairman of the The Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation and a trustee of the Alkek and Williams Foundation. She serves on many non-profit boards, including Texas Heart® Institute, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, UT Health, Methodist Hospital’s Center for Performing Arts Medicine, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet, Houston Symphony, Alley Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Society for the Performing Arts and University of Houston’s Moores School of Music. She also served on the Board of Directors for Virtuosi of Houston Youth Orchestra from 1999-2001. Willliams has lent her time and talent to chairing many events, including the 70th Anniversary Gala Concert in 1983 for the Houston Symphony and Houston Grand Opera’s Opening Night Dinner Celebration Madame Butterfly in 2010. She also co-chaired the 4th Annual Gala in 1970 for St. Joseph Hospital Foundation, the Denton A. Cooley Leadership Award Dinner in 1996 and 2006 for the Texas Heart Institute and the Silver Slipper Award Evening for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in 1998. She has served as Honorary Chair on numerous occasions and has received many honors and awards, including honoree at the 2008 Houston Symphony Ball and recipient of the Ima Hogg Philanthropy Award, honorary chairman at the 2010 Symphony Ball, Virtuosi’s Rhapsody in Blue – Leading Ladies of the Millennium in 2000, American Heart Association, Baylor College of Medicine, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Houston Ballet Foundation, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony, Memorial Hermann, Northwood University, Open Door Mission, St. Joseph Hospital Foundation and University of Houston’s Moores School of Music.

Susan and Larry Kellner Honorees With a commitment to service, Susan and Larry Kellner are longtime leaders in the Houston community. Larry is active in numerous community and civic organizations. He is chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership and serves on the Rice University Board of Trustees. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Methodist Hospital System, YMCA of Greater Houston, the Spring Branch Education Foundation and is a member of both the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board, the Sam Houston Area Council Board and on the development board of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. His wife Susan serves on the boards of the Texas Education Reform Foundation, Children at Risk, the Greater Houston Community Foundation, and the Chapelwood United Methodist Church Board of Stewards and Staff-Parish Relations Committee. In addition to being a philanthropic leader, Larry is a dynamic business leader. He is president of Emerald Creek Group, a private equity firm based in Houston. From December 2004 through December 2009, Kellner was the chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Airlines Inc. He joined the airline in 1995 as chief financial officer. In May 2001, he was elected president of the airline and to the Board of Directors, and in March 2003, he was named president and chief operating officer. Prior to joining Continental, Larry was executive vice president and chief financial officer of American Savings Bank, owned by The Robert M. Bass Group. Prior to that, he was executive vice president and chief financial officer of The Koll Company, a private real estate investment and construction firm. Larry graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of South Carolina, where he served as Student Body President. The University of South Carolina presented him with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998. With a passion for education, Susan Kellner recently retired from the Spring Branch Independent School District Board of Trustees after three terms (nine years). While on the Board, she served as president for two years and chaired the district’s Facilities Committee which successfully passed the largest school bond in Spring Branch history. She also served as the liaison to the Board for Technology, for Curriculum and Instruction, and for Legislative Affairs. Susan graduated in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in biology from University of California, Irvine. She worked for Bristol MyersSquibb from 1987 to 1995 in sales, sales training and sales management. Larry and Susan and their four children reside in Houston. 16 www.houstonsymphony.org



Notes.................................. by Carl Cunningham

VLTAVA (THE MOLDAU) FROM MÁ VLAST (MY FATHERLAND) Bedrˇich Smetana (1824-1884)

Saturday, September 8, 2012 7:30 pm Jones Hall

Recording: Libor Pešek conducting the Czech Philharmonic (Kultur Video)

Opening Night with Boléro

Instrumentation: piccolo, pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp and strings

Orchestral Showcase

Hans Graf, conductor Thomas LeGrand, clarinet Aralee Dorough, flute Judy Dines, flute Mark Hughes, trumpet Alexandra Adkins, violin Sophia Silivos, violin Smetana

Vltava (The Moldau) from Má vlast (My Fatherland)

Debussy

Première rapsodie for Clarinet and Orchestra

Doppler/A. Adorján Concerto for Two Flutes in D minor III Allegro Smetana/ Three Dances from The Bartered Bride H. Riesenfeld III Dance of the Comedians: Vivace Hovhaness

Prayer of Saint Gregory for Trumpet and Strings, Opus 62b

Moszkowski/ Suite for Two Violins and Orchestra in G minor, Opus 71 C. Topilow IV Molto vivace Ravel

Boléro

There will be no intermission.

Bedrˇich Smetana, generally regarded as the founder of nationalism in Czech music, was close to 50 years old when he composed the set of six descriptive orchestral pieces he collectively titled My Fatherland (Má Vlast). The Moldau (Vltava), the second of these short symphonic poems, has become the most popular work in the cycle, describing the course of the Moldau River from its source through the city of Prague on its way to join the larger Elbe River. At the opening of The Moldau, the two brooks at the headwaters of the Vltava are depicted by a long series of running scale passages in the flutes, over a light accompaniment of plucked strings and harp. Clarinets join in as the music gathers strength when the first stream is joined by a second. The main melody of the tone poem is set forth by the violins and oboes, proceeding until it is interrupted by a horn call indicating a fox hunt is under way on the forested shoreline. A sudden change brings on a rustic two-step meter as the river passes a scene of village dancing. Eventually, this gives way to a quieter moment depicting water nymphs in the moonlight. Again, the main theme returns over its constantly running accompaniment, but when

Hans Graf’s biography appears on page 8. This evening’s concert is being recorded for future broadcast on Classical 91.7 FM, the Radio Voice of the Houston Symphony.

Opening Night is sponsored by Opening Night with Boléro Concert and Dinner Margaret Alkek Williams, Honorary Chairman Susan and Larry Kellner, Honorees Linda and Gene Dewhurst, Chairmen Fran Fawcett-Peterson and Gloria Tenenbown, Co-Chairmen

Opening Night with Boléro Concert and Dinner has received leadership support from: Margaret Alkek Williams Cameron Management/ Cathy and Dougal Cameron Linda and Gene Dewhurst Jackson and Company Cora Sue and Harry Mach / Joella and Steve Mach Nancy and Robert Peiser

Baker Botts L.L.P. Bank of Houston / James D. Stein BBVA Compass Dr. Ed and Mrs. Marie T. Bosarge Shannon and Donald Childress Chubb Group of Insurance Companies ConocoPhillips Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group / Bank of America Ray C. Fish Foundation Salient Partners / Andrew Linbeck Kelly Fawcett Somoza Phoebe and Bobby Tudor Mr. and Mrs. Jess B. Tutor Nancy and Steven Williams As of August 20, 2012

18 www.houstonsymphony.org

ConocoPhillips has been a proud sponsor of the Houston Symphony for more than 25 years and commends the Symphony on its leadership in advancing Houston’s vibrant arts community. The Houston Symphony has enriched the lives of countless individuals through the performance of exceptional music. ConocoPhillips, headquartered in Houston, is one of the world’s largest independent E&P companies with interests around the world. The company applauds the Symphony’s efforts to promote music education and cultural awareness in the Houston community.


.................................................................................................................... it is swallowed up in a series of rushing scale passages, Smetana advises us that we have reached the perilous St. John rapids. The theme returns a third time in a faster tempo, indicating the full power of the stream. As the music broadens into a radiant coda, Smetana indicates that Vyešhrad has come into view, high above the steep banks of the river. Appropriately, the texture of the music thins out and becomes very soft as the waters of the Vltava are mixed with those of the Elbe at the end of the tone poem. PREMIÈRE RAPSODIE FOR CLARINET AND ORCHESTRA Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Instrumentation: pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings Franz Doppler and his younger brother, Karl, were virtuoso flutists who migrated from their hometown of Lemberg, Poland (now L’vov in western Ukraine), to Hungary and eventually Vienna, where Franz became principal flutist of the court orchestra and later conductor of the ballet orchestra. The Doppler brothers also concertized extensively throughout Europe during the mid-19th century. Doppler’s Concerto

for Two Flutes exemplifies his blend of brilliant and lyrical Italian operatic music with stylistic touches drawn from Eastern Europe and Russia during the early 19th century. The finale is a classic five-part rondo, alternating a frisky main theme with a broadly lyrical secondary theme. A whole catalog of intricate phrasings, ornamentation and tonguing devices are set forth in its array of scales and leaping melodies. Perfect synchronization of the two solo parts becomes particularly challenging during the elaborate cadenza toward the end of the

Recording: clarinetist Emma Johnson, with Paul Tortelier conducting the English Chamber Orchestra (ASV) Instrumentation: three flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, three bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, percussion, two harps, strings While Claude Debussy was educated at the Paris Conservatory and was awarded the coveted Prix de Rome when he was 21, he developed into an innovative composer whose artistic philosophy was quite alien to the academic principles of music as taught at the conservatory. Nevertheless, he was coaxed into an official involvement with its famed competition when he was asked to judge the entrance auditions for the wind-instrument applications in the summer of 1909. He consented to write two test pieces for wind players applying the following year and agreed to judge the windinstrument competition again in 1910. The First Rhapsody was composed for clarinet and piano during December 1909 and January 1910. That summer, Debussy orchestrated the piano part, providing a typically diaphanous, gauzy orchestral texture as an underpinning for the clarinetist. The Rhapsody has a very flexible solo line, with constant and quite subtle changes in tempo. Numerous little cadenzas, flourishes, trills and running passages are set forth in a delicate fashion, so that difficulty of the music is masked by its unobtrusive temperament. Two thematic ideas are important: the first evolves from the first three notes in the clarinet part; the second, a rocking theme that ranges up and down the notes of a triad, appears with a change of key a little later. Both themes recur at various points during the piece. The printed music for Debussy’s Premiere rapsodie was donated by Winthrop Wynman and Beverly Johnson.

CONCERTO FOR TWO FLUTES IN D MINOR Franz Doppler (1821-1883) Recording: flutists Patrick Gallois and Kazunori Seo, with the Sinfonia Finlandia (Naxos) September 2012 19


Notes continued................................................................................................... piece, where the two soloists must align their parts precisely while conveying the free, improvisational character a cadenza requires. THREE DANCES FROM THE BARTERED BRIDE Bedrˇich Smetana (1824-1884)

Smetana’s comic opera, The Bartered Bride established a Czech national tradition in the operatic medium and has remained as a favorite work in the international repertory. The plot concerns the efforts of Marˇenka and her lover, Jeník, to outwit the village marriage broker and her stubborn parents who want to marry her off to another man. The plot takes place at the village fair, and the Dance of the Comedians highlights the arrival of a circus troupe at the beginning of Act Three. The quick two-step dance is set as a series of short, robust verses and refrains, mostly lively though some are slightly pensive, ending in a brisk, emphatic coda. The printed music for Smetana’s Dance of the Comedians from The Bartered Bride was donated by Dr. and Mrs. M. J. Fox Jr.

PRAYER OF SAINT GREGORY FOR TRUMPET AND STRINGS, OPUS 62B Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000) Recording: Thomas Stevens, trumpet; Gerard Schwarz conducting the Seattle Symphony (Crystal Records) Instrumentation: strings The voluminous compositional legacy of American-born Armenian-Scottish composer Alan Hovhaness included several chamber operas. Etchmiadzin, Opus 62, was reportedly the first and shortest of them and this short piece for solo trumpet and strings is taken from an instrumental interlude in the opera. The work is set on a medieval-sounding pale modal scale line and is composed in a threepart form, with a contrasting middle section for the string ensemble. SUITE FOR TWO VIOLINS AND ORCHESTRA IN G MINOR, OPUS 71 Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925) Orchestral version by Carl Topilow Recording: Robert McDuffie and Amy Schwartz, violins; Elizabeth Pridgin, piano (Sono Luminus) Instrumentation: pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons and horns, timpani and strings Pianist-composer Moritz Moszkowski’s Suite for Two Violins was originally composed with 20 www.houstonsymphony.org

BOLÉRO Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Recording: Riccardo Chailly conducting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam (Eloquence) Instrumentation: piccolo, two flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes (one doubling oboe d’amore), English horn, two clarinets, (one doubling E-flat clarinet), bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba, three saxophones, timpani, percussion, harp, celesta and strings Like Bizet’s Carmen and Saint-Saëns’ Havanaise, Ravel’s Boléro is one of many instances when French composers have looked fondly over his shoulders at the music of neighboring Spain. One might name Debussy’s Ibéria and Chabrier’s España as two of the more popular orchestral examples. Following his return from a highly successful American tour in the spring of 1928, Ravel began work on a commission from dancer/choreographer Ida Rubinstein to compose a ballet with a Spanish theme. Following the premiere, Ravel issued a written statement precisely explaining his intention in writing the piece: to compose a 17minute work involving “one long, very gradual crescendo.” Also, it was to feature an insistent repetition of a rhythmic pattern over “folk tunes of the usual Spanish-Arabian kind.” As Ravel’s Boléro begins, the side drum takes up the rhythm, maintaining it until the next-to-last measure, while the flute begins a beguiling melody over a simple string accompaniment. Gradually, more and more instruments join in, often in exotic combinations, until the entire orchestra throbs with the relentless, sometimes wailing melody. The work received its premiere by Rubinstein and her dance company in November 1928. The conductor’s scores for Ravel’s Bolero were donated by Dr. Gary L. Hollingsworth and Dr. Ken Hyde.

©2012, Carl R. Cunningham

Biographies. ............... Thomas LeGrand, clarinet

Thomas LeGrand, associate principal clarinetist of the Houston Symphony, has appeared as

An active chamber performer, he has appeared locally with Da Camera of Houston, Texas Music Festival and The Greenbriar Consortium. During the summer, he can be heard at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming where he enjoys long mountain hikes when he is not performing orchestral and chamber music. LeGrand is an associate professor of clarinet at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music where his primary focus is conducting the orchestral repertoire class for woodwinds. Prior to that, he served on the clarinet faculty of the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. Through the Houston Symphony, he was also involved with Fidelity Investments’ FutureStage® project, a program that helped prepare and inspire underserved middle and high school students for future stages in life through a unique music and theatre arts education program. Before coming to Houston, LeGrand was a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and taught clarinet at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. Thomas LeGrand shares his life with his wife, Carol, who is an elementary music teacher in Alief ISD. When he is not making music, he enjoys training for distance running, hiking and camping.

Aralee Dorough, flute

A native of Pennsylvania, Aralee Dorough first traveled to Houston on a long shot when she was a music student taking an audition for the second flute chair of the Houston Symphony. She won the job and began playing with the orchestra in 1985. In 1991, after the retirement of the Houston Symphony’s esteemed principal flute, Byron Hester, Dorough succeeded in winning the position of principal flute. Dorough has previously performed as a

© Eric Arbiter

Instrumentation: piccolo, pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion and strings

soloist with the orchestra in several concertos, including those of Weber, Rossini, Copland, Mozart and the Martin Concerto for 7 Wind Instruments. In March 2009, he performed as recorder soloist in the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in the Houston Symphony’s Bach vs. Vivaldi Experience.

LeGrand

Recording: Libor Pesek conducting the Czech Philharmonic (Kultur Video)

a piano accompaniment, which was eventually orchestrated by American conductor Carl Topilow. The final movement is a rondo set at a galloping pace in the meter of a gigue. The two solo violins engage the main theme in a race that is only broken by periodic appearances of a more relaxed secondary theme, set in longer notes. A change of meter and a faster pace marks the coda that sends the violinists racing to the final bar line.


..................................................................................................................... © Eric Arbiter

Dines

soloist with the orchestra, and most recently, in April 2010 with Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos performing Mozart’s Flute Concerto in D Major. Other solo performances include Mozart’s Concerto in C major for Flute, Harp and Orchestra (1992); Mozart’s Concerto in G major (1993) for a triple CD set (1994, IMP Records); and again in concert (2004).

© Eric Arbiter

Dorough

Dines has performed with other local groups, including Aperio, Divas World, The Foundation for Modern Music and the St. Cecilia Chamber Music Society. Outside of Houston, she is a member of the Ritz Chamber Players, a dynamic chamber ensemble which performs around the country. She has participated in the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, which convenes every summer in beautiful Jackson Hole, WY. Several times, she has performed at the Continued on page 35

Dorough gave the world premiere of Bright Sheng’s concerto, Flute Moon (1999) and the U.S. premiere of a Salvador Brotons concerto (2003). She has played with the Houston Symphony Chamber Players, Da Camera of Houston, The Foundation for Modern Music, Musiqa, the Festival-Institute at Round Top, Chicago’s Ravinia Festival and internationally, in Europe and Japan. She enjoys a special partnership with fellow Symphony flutist, Judy Dines, who is also performing in tonight’s concert. Dorough and Dines have been lauded for their collaborative sound in the Symphony’s flute section ever since they first performed together during Dines’ audition into the orchestra. Most recently, they collaborated on a CD with Symphony keyboardist Scott Holshouser, which will be released soon. Dorough teaches orchestral repertoire at the Texas Music Festival and the FestivalInstitute at Round Top and also serves as an affiliate artist on the faculty of the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. She can be heard on more than 20 Houston Symphony recordings and in performances aired on PBS and NPR’s Performance Today. She has worked with distinguished artists, including Michael Tilson Thomas, Leonard Slatkin, Yo-Yo Ma and her father, jazz artist and Schoolhouse Rock composer, Bob Dorough, on “The Houston Branch” CD project (2005).

Judy Dines, flute

Houston Symphony flutist Judy Dines is a very active performer in Houston and beyond. Locally, she is a frequent performer in the Greenbriar Consortium, a diverse chamber group made up of Houston Symphony members and other musicians in the Houston area. She also was a member and frequent soloist with the former Houston Chamber Symphony. September 2012 21


Biography............................

Fiesta Sinfónica Familiar Hans Graf, conductor *Jason Vieaux, guitar Falla Suite No. 1 from El Sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) I Introduction: Allegro ma non troppo—Afternoon: Allegretto mosso— II Dance of the Miller’s Wife (Fandango): Allegro ma non troppo— III The Grapes: Vivo Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar and Orchestra I Allegro con spirito II Adagio III Allegro gentile INTERMISSION Revueltas

Sensemayá

Falla Suite No. 2 from El Sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) I The Neighbor’s Dance (Seguidillas): Allegro ma non troppo II The Miller’s Dance (Farruca): Poco vivo—moderato assai III Final Dance (Jota): Poco mosso—Allegro ritmico, molto moderato e pesante *Houston Symphony debut Hans Graf’s biography appears on page 8. This evening’s concert is being recorded for future broadcast on Classical 91.7 FM, the Radio Voice of the Houston Symphony.

Fiesta Sinfónica Familiar is sponsored by Media Sponsor: Univision Channel 45 and Telefutura 67

The conductor’s scores for Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez were donated by Ms. Irene E. Robles.

22 www.houstonsymphony.org

The Houston Symphony wishes to thank Chevron, sponsor of the Fiesta Sinfónica Familiar concert. This free performance celebrates the music and culture of Latin America and entertains thousands of Houstonians each year. Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies with more than 60,000 people conducting business worldwide—including nearly 10,000 employees and contractors right here in Houston. Our company values the uniqueness of individuals as well as the extraordinary and varied perspectives and talents they provide. That’s why we are a major supporter of cultural performances and events in the Greater Houston Area. We believe exposure to the arts is essential to expanding a community’s economic health and enhancing the human experience. We also believe in investing in the communities where we operate. Each year, our company contributes millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to nonprofit organizations that address critical needs of communities, focusing on basic human needs, education and economic development. Houston employees have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities through the Chevron Humankind program that matches employee contributions up to $10,000 per year. And each year, they provide roughly 27,000 volunteer hours feeding the hungry, building homes, planting trees and assisting in classrooms—improving the lives of Houstonians along the way. Our goal is to be the global energy company most admired for its people, partnerships and performance, and our success is driven by the ingenuity and commitment of our employees. Learn more about us at www.chevron.com.

© tyler boyle

Vieaux

Sunday, September 9, 2012 6 pm Jones Hall


.......................................... Jason Vieaux, guitar

Cited as one of the “youngest stars of the guitar world” by The New York Times, Jason Vieaux has earned a reputation for putting his expressive gifts and virtuosity at the service of a remarkably wide range of music. He makes his Houston Symphony debut with tonight’s performance. Highlights for the 2012-13 season include concertos with Toronto, Spokane, Augusta (GA) and Silicon Valley symphonies; a performance of the Lukas Foss Concerto for the New Hampshire Music Festival; duo recitals with harpist Yolanda Kondonassis and accordion/bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro; solo recitals in Austin; at the Mannes School of Music and California’s La Guitarra Festival; and a South American sojourn with Curtis On Tour. In May 2012, the Jason Vieaux Guitar Academy was launched in partnership with ArtistWorks Inc., an unprecedented technological interface that provides a one-on-one online study exchange between Vieaux and international guitar students. He has already made 11 commercial CDs with Azica Records, and a new CD of solo guitar encores is planned for a 2013 release. Bach: Works for Lute, Vol.1 hit #13 on Billboard’s Classical Chart after its first week and received rave reviews by Gramophone, The Absolute Sound and Soundboard. Images of Metheny features music by American jazz legend Pat Metheny. Sevilla: The Music of Isaac Albeniz made several Top Ten lists the year of its release. Vieaux’s CDs and live performances are regularly broadcast, and his work is featured in Acoustic Guitar, MUSO and Gramophone magazines. He is a regular contributor to NPR’s Deceptive Cadence, a blog series on classical music. In 2011, Jason Vieaux co-founded the Guitar Department at The Curtis Institute of Music with guitarist David Starobin, while continuing to head the Guitar Department of the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA), and is affiliated with Philadelphia’s Astral Artists, for which he gives outreach concerts. His primary teachers were Jeremy Sparks and John Holmquist. In 1992, he was awarded the prestigious GFA International Guitar Competition 1st Prize, the event’s youngest winner ever. He is also honored with a Naumburg Foundation top prize, a Cleveland Institute of Music Alumni Achievement Award, and a Salon di Virtuosi Career Grant. In 1995, Vieaux was an Artistic Ambassador of the U.S. to Southeast Asia, concertizing in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, India, Bangladesh, Myannmar and Nepal. Jason Vieaux is represented by Jonathan Wentworth Associates, Ltd. September 2012 23


Upcoming Performances.................................................................................. Wicked Divas

Cynthia Woods

POPS

October 5, 6, 7, 2012 Mitchell at Jones Hall Steven Reineke, conductor Alli Mauzey, vocalist Nicole Parker, vocalist Two Wicked stars join forces to celebrate great women of the stage and screen. Broadway divas Alli Mauzey and Nicole Parker will grace the Jones Hall stage for a performance packed with powerhouse songs from Wicked, Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, Titanic and other popular songs from Broadway, film and Grammy®-winning artists.

Wands and Batons The Music of Harry Potter and More

October 6, 2012 Robert Franz, conductor The Houston Symphony is conjuring up great music to celebrate the season. Dress up and bring your magical dreams as we turn a Saturday morning into great fun. With a wave of his baton, conductor Robert Franz will cast a spell over the entire audience in this concert featuring music from Harry Potter and Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Lang Lang Plays Beethoven 3 Concerts. 3 Different Concertos.

October 18, 20, 21, 2012 Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor TOTAL Gold Classics Series Lang Lang, piano Lindberg: EXPO Beethoven: Piano Concertos 2, 3 and 5 Schumann: Symphony No. 4 The New York Times’ “hottest artist on the classical music planet” is heading back to Houston. Hear Lang Lang perform three of the most beloved Beethoven piano concertos in one weekend as he plays a different concerto each performance. Experience Beethoven’s joyful 2nd, the dramatic 3rd and the epic Emperor.

Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique

October 25, 2012 – Sugar Land Concert October 26, 2012 – Friday ACCESS concert October 27, 28, 2012 – Standard concert format Shell Favorite Masters Series Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor William VerMeulen, horn Berlioz: Roman Carnival R. Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 *Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique One of the pillars of the symphonic repertoire, Symphonie fantastique brings you to a new world of sound, where images morph into music. Follow a young musician, afflicted by unrequited love and flooded with romantic passion. As he drifts from one fantastic dreamscape to another, obsessed by the image of his beloved, you’ll follow him from the tumult of a grand ball, to the peaceful contemplation of nature, and finally to his plunge into delirium in a sinister witch’s sabbath. *Friday Access concert includes this work only.

Form a Group! Share Memories. Save Money. Buy 10 or more tickets - Call (713) 238-1435. 24 www.houstonsymphony.org

Thank you to our media partners:

Radio Voice of the Houston Symphony

Exclusive Print Media Sponsor, Special Events


Best of Brahms Friday, September 14, 2012 8 pm Sunday, September 16, 2012 2:30 pm Jones Hall

Hans Graf’s biography appears on page 8. Artist biographies begin on page 33. Program notes begin on page 25.

PROGRAM A Hans Graf, conductor Garrick Ohlsson, piano Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Opus 15 I Maestoso II Adagio III Rondo: Allegro non troppo INTERMISSION Brahms Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Opus 68 I Un poco sostenuto—Allegro II Andante sostenuto III Un poco allegretto e grazioso IV Adagio—Più andante—Allegro non troppo, ma con brio Saturday, September 15, 2012 8 pm Jones Hall

PROGRAM B Hans Graf, conductor Frank Huang, violin Brinton Averil Smith, cello Brahms Variationen über ein Thema von Haydn (Variations on a Theme of Haydn), Opus 56a Brahms Concerto in A minor for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, Opus 102 (Double) I Allegro II Andante III Vivace non troppo INTERMISSION Brahms Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Opus 98 I Allegro non troppo II Andante moderato III Allegro giocoso IV Allegro energico e passionato

The Houston Symphony gratefully acknowledges the following supporters of the concert weekend: Partner Dr. Gary Hollingsworth & Dr. Ken Hyde Patron Dr. Scott Cutler September 2012 25


Notes..................................

Best of Brahms Thursday, September 20, 2012 8 pm Saturday, September 22, 2012 8 pm Jones Hall

by Carl Cunningham

Hans Graf’s biography appears on page 8. Artist biographies begin on page 33. Program notes begin on page 25.

PROGRAM C Hans Graf, conductor Erin Morley, soprano Joshua Hopkins, baritone Houston Symphony Chorus Charles Hausmann, director Brahms Tragische Ouvertüre (Tragic Overture), Opus 81 Brahms Nänie (Dirge) for Chorus and Orchestra, Opus 82 INTERMISSION Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, Opus 45 I Ziemlich langsam und mit Ausdruck II Langsam, marschmäßig—Allegro non troppo III Andante moderato IV Maßig bewegt V Langsam VI Andante—Vivace—Allegro VII Feierlich Sunday, September 23, 2012 2:30 pm Jones Hall

PROGRAM B Hans Graf, conductor Frank Huang, violin Brinton Averil Smith, cello Brahms Variationen über ein Thema von Haydn (Variations on a Theme of Haydn), Opus 56a Brahms Concerto in A minor for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, Opus 102 (Double) I Allegro II Andante III Vivace non troppo INTERMISSION Brahms Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Opus 98 I Allegro non troppo II Andante moderato III Allegro giocoso IV Allegro energico e passionato The Houston Symphony gratefully acknowledges the following supporters of the concert weekend: Patron Betty & Gene McDavid 26 www.houstonsymphony.org

Johannes Brahms Born May 7, 1833, Hamburg, Germany Died April 3, 1897, Vienna, Austria PROGRAM A PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1 IN D MINOR, OPUS 15 Composed: 1854-58 Recording: Daniel Barenboim, with Sir John Barbirolli conducting the New Philharmonia Orchestra (EMI Classics) Instrumentation: pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings When one places Brahms’ First Piano Concerto in the context of his development as a composer, it is amazing to realize that this huge, muscular concerto was among the earliest of his largescale works. Setting aside a number of vocal and piano pieces, only the three large piano sonatas predated the concerto, which was his very first orchestral composition. The tense, urgent character of the concerto’s outer movements—”storm and stress,” as musical scholars would characterize their mood—echoed the lean, sinewy tension in some of those early piano sonatas and continued to echo in Brahms’ choral music and his First Symphony, nearly two decades later. Like the C minor Symphony, the D minor Concerto had an extended gestation period during which it underwent considerable metamorphosis. Brahms conceived the work as a symphony in 1854, but set himself the exercise of writing a preliminary draft for two pianos. (He followed the same procedure with the Haydn Variations nearly 20 years later.) However, he could not easily adapt the piano texture of the work to an orchestral style so he decided to turn it into a concerto. In so doing, he set aside the funeral march he had composed for the work (using it later in the German Requiem) and wrote a vigorous new rondo as the concerto’s closing movement. Like the prelude to Verdi’s Il trovatore, the concerto opens with a chilling timpani roll, introducing a strident, trill-laden theme in the strings. Two subsidiary themes relieve some of the tension, completing what amounts to a first thematic group in the concerto’s exposition section. A more insistent return of the trill theme announces the second and more complete exposition, this one featuring the piano in an even-flowing Bach-like theme set against the cutting orchestral trills. Once all of this thematic material has been worked out, the key changes to a sunnier F major and the piano blooms forth in a broad, expressive and quite


.......................................... Romantic second theme. This is stated at some length until a short horn-call theme brings the exposition to a close. As is customary in concertos, the piano leads off the development, thundering down the keyboard in a dramatic commentary on the horn call, full of leaping octaves. The stormy development is made up of materials from the first thematic group, coming to a climax in a series of loudly hammered chords that announce the recapitulation. With the thorough craftsmanship and unfailing invention that is an unfailing Brahmsian trait, all six themes presented in the two expositions are again heard, but in different relationships between the piano and orchestra. The serene slow movement originally bore the inscription (in Latin): “Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord.” Brahms first met Robert and Clara Schumann in 1853, the year before he commenced work on the concerto, and some early writers associated the Latin inscription with Schumann, who was called “Dominus” (“Lord”) by his circle of admirers. However, modern scholars see it as a reference to the composer’s semi-suppressed love for Clara Schumann, citing Brahms’ statement in a letter to her: “I am also painting a lovely portrait of you; it is to be the Adagio.” Indeed, this movement is a very personal, intimate outpouring of beautiful music, reverent, song-like and interrupted only once by a passionate outburst. Where the first movement has no cadenza, this movement fades away with a lacy, tenderly whispered solo. Three themes, in D minor, F major and B-flat major respectively, alternate throughout the spirited closing rondo, whose rough humor shines through Brahms’ frowning visage. The second theme sounds like a variant of the first while the third turns into a short fugato at the center of the movement. Following a lengthy solo cadenza (the first of two), the first theme is transformed into a jolly D major march. The printed music for Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 was donated by Ms. Marilyn G. Chapman.

PROGRAM A SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN C MINOR, OPUS 68 Composed: (1855-76) Recording: Christoph Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony (Virgin Classics) Instrumentation: pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings Brahms’ First Symphony is not only remembered for its awesome muscular power but also for the extraordinary length of time it took the composer to marshal that energy. While Brahms spent 21 years pondering symphonic problems, the progress of

music seemed to pass him by. Camille SaintSaëns, two years younger than Brahms, had completed four of his five symphonies during that time period. Antonín Dvorˇák, eight years younger, had completed five of his nine symphonies. Though nine years older, Anton Bruckner completed his monumental Fifth Symphony the same year Brahms put the finishing touches on his C minor Symphony. And during those 21 years, Richard Wagner completed Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the music of the last two operas in his Ring Cycle—and performed the entire four-opera cycle in his newly-built Bayreuth Festival Theater! Brahms’ deep concern about creating a symphony under the looming shadow of Beethoven’s nine symphonies is often cited as the cause for his long vacillation. On the other hand, the final illness and impending death of his mentor, Robert Schumann, evidently prompted him to heed Schumann’s urging that it was time to produce a symphony. Work began in 1855, and in 1862, Brahms sent a sizeable sketch of the first movement to Schumann’s widow, Clara. Nothing is known of progress on the work over the next 12 years, since Brahms had a habit of outwitting historians by burning sketches of his music. But the composer did work on it between 1874 and 1876 and the premiere finally took place on November 4, 1876,

in Karlsruhe under the baton of Brahms’ good friend, conductor Felix Otto Dessoff. Though similarities are often cited between the broad hymnic theme in the final movement of Brahms First Symphony and the main theme in the “Ode to Joy” finale of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, there are more important parallels to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The choice of C minor as its tonality is one; others include the stormy, agonized character of its opening movement and key relationships between movements. The dramatic change from a moody minor key to a triumphant major key in the fourth movement is particularly significant. The sudden addition of three trombones to the orchestral ensemble at that moment is another important parallel to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. But some characteristics show Brahms following his own lead. The two central movements in a typical Beethoven symphony are on a fairly even scale with the outer movements, where they are reduced to relatively short, pastoral interludes in the Brahms First Symphony. In prefacing the opening movement with a lengthy introduction, Brahms acknowledged a tradition going as far back as the late symphonies of Haydn and Mozart at the end of the 18th century. But the brooding introduction to the fourth movement is another matter. It unexpectedly interrupts the normal progress September 2012 27


Notes continued.........................

Best of Brahms Friday, September 28, 2012 8 pm Sunday, September 30, 2012 2:30 pm Jones Hall

Hans Graf’s biography appears on page 8. Artist biographies begin on page 33. Program notes begin on page 25.

PROGRAM D John Storgårds, conductor Jonathan Biss, piano

from a dance-like third movement to a fast finale, suggesting that the composer is bringing the musical conversation back to the gloomy subject matter of the first movement. Brahms, however, was a master of musical architecture, using the introduction to build suspense, then releasing it in one of the most glorious, climactic finales in the symphonic literature. The printed music for Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 was donated by Frances & Mrs. Ira T. Anderson in honor of Lenore Simons.

PROGRAM B

Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Opus 83 I Allegro non troppo II Allegro appassionato III Andante IV Allegretto grazioso

VARIATIONEN ÜBER EIN THEMA VON HAYDN (VARIATIONS ON A THEME OF HAYDN), OPUS 56A

INTERMISSION

Recording: Christoph Eschenbach conducting the Houston Symphony (Virgin Classics)

Brahms Symphony No. 3 in F major, Opus 90 I Allegro con brio II Andante III Poco allegretto IV Allegro Saturday, September 29, 2012 8 pm Jones Hall

PROGRAM E John Storgårds, conductor Jonathan Biss, piano Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Opus 83 I Allegro non troppo II Allegro appassionato III Andante IV Allegretto grazioso INTERMISSION Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D major, Opus 73 I Allegro non troppo II Adagio non troppo III Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino) IV Allegro con spirito

The Houston Symphony gratefully acknowledges the following supporters of the concert weekend: Underwriter Drs. M.S. & Marie-Luise LKalsi 28 www.houstonsymphony.org

Composed: 1873

Instrumentation: piccolo, pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, triangle and strings Throughout his life, Brahms took a great interest in music of earlier times. He subscribed to the first complete published editions of the works of Bach and Handel and maintained a scrapbook in which he jotted down excerpts of pieces by masters of preceding musical eras. One of the pieces in that scrapbook was the theme of the “St. Anthony Chorale” from an outdoor windensemble suite attributed to Joseph Haydn. (Recent scholars strongly suspect it was written by Haydn’s star pupil, Ignaz Pleyel.) Haydn’s first biographer, C.F. Pohl, had discovered the theme and showed it to Brahms around 1870. Three years later, the composer employed it to create the beloved set of variations exhibiting his fascinating ability to blend techniques of the Baroque and Classical eras into the Romantic style he espoused. He first composed the Variations on a Theme of Haydn as a two-piano work, but quickly made a nearly-identical orchestral version. Though the theme sounds foursquare in its shape, only the middle section is made up of typical four-measure phrases. The two phrases at the beginning are each five measures long and the concluding phrases are also irregular in length—a trait that doubtless fascinated Brahms. The eight variations follow the “character variation” type developed by Beethoven: that is to say, each variation has its own strongly individual personality, rather than being just a decorative ornamentation of the theme as Haydn or Mozart would have composed them. The first variation picks up on the repeated notes at the end of the theme, the second takes up the jerky dotted rhythm at the beginning of the theme, the sixth is a jolly hunting-horn episode, the seventh adopts the


.................................................................................................................... gently swaying rhythm of a pastoral Italian “siciliano,” while the eighth offers a fascinating imitation of a fleeting organ prelude. Though the variations proceed with deceptive ease, they are packed with intricate Bachian contrapuntal devices of canon, invertible counterpoint and in the grand, noble finale, a baroque-style set of ground-bass variations based upon 16 repetitions of the opening fivemeasure phrase of the theme. The printed music for Brahms’ Variations on a Theme of Haydn was donated by Mr. George McKee to his parents conductor William McKee and oboist Margaret McKee.

between the two, who had been close friends and recital partners in their youth, but had broken off contact when Brahms objected to Joachim’s behavior in divorcing his wife. The Brahms Double Concerto is the last really famous work in a long line of “concertante” works that call for more than one soloist. Its best known predecessors are Beethoven’s Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, Piano and Orchestra and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra. Some commentators cite the double concer-

tos of Bach as more distant ancestors of this work. Finally, there was a lively though musically superficial tradition of hybrid symphony/ concerto writing in late 18th-century French music. Like the Mozart work, these were called “sinfonia concertante” and involved multiple soloists. Though Brahms’ treatment of the two solo parts is often rhapsodic, the work itself is the shortest and most tightly constructed of his four concertos. The opening movement is a compact sonata form, the second a lyrical

PROGRAM B CONCERTO IN A MINOR FOR VIOLIN, CELLO AND ORCHESTRA, OPUS 102 (Double) Composed: 1887 Recording: Renaud Capuçon, violin; Gautier Capuçon, cello; Myung-Whun Chung conducting the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra (EMI Classics) Instrumentation: two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings By custom, Brahms spent his summers at some rural lakeside resort, and it was at these sites that many of his most memorable works came to life. From 1886 to 1888, he spent his summers at Hofstetten near Lake Thun in the Swiss canton of Berne, where he produced several major chamber-music works, the Gypsy Songs and the Double Concerto in A minor for Violin, Cello and Orchestra. While he looked forward to the fun a composer could have writing for two soloists, Brahms expressed certain unease about writing for string-instrument soloists, especially the violin. He acknowledged his thorough technical mastery of the piano, readily evident in the splendid solo parts of his two piano concertos. But he recalled seeking the help of violinist Joseph Joachim in shaping the solo line of his Violin Concerto, and in a letter to Clara Schumann, he wondered whether he shouldn’t have passed on his ideas for the Double Concerto to Joachim. “It is a very different matter writing for instruments whose nature and sound one only has a chance acquaintance with, or only hears in one’s mind, from writing for an instrument that one knows as thoroughly as I know the piano,” he confided to Schumann. For her part, Schumann quickly dismissed his fears and, as matters turned out, Joachim was brought into consultation since he and his colleague, Robert Hausmann, cellist of the Joachim String Quartet, were chosen as soloists for its premiere on October 18, 1887, in Cologne. Brahms’ subsequent dedication of the work to Joachim cemented reconciliation September 2012 29


Notes continued................................................................................................... song form and the finale is a brisk Hungarian rondo, recalling his fondness for this form and his earlier use of it in the Violin Concerto, the G minor Piano Quartet and other works. PROGRAM B

tral scherzos that are trademarks of Brahms’ great symphonic predecessor, Ludwig van Beethoven. The printed music for Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 was donated by Mr. and Mrs. James W. Stovall.

PROGRAM C

SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN E MINOR, OPUS 98 Composed: 1884-85 Recording: Christoph Eschenbach conducting the Houston Symphony (Virgin Classics) Instrumentation: two flutes (one doubling piccolo), pairs of oboes, clarinets and bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, triangle and strings The axiom that Johannes Brahms blended contrapuntal principles of the Baroque era and Classical-era formal structures with the ardor of Romanticism holds truest for the last of his four symphonies. With this autumnal E minor Symphony, composed during the sunset years of the Romantic era, Brahms seems to cast a long, heroic, but rather austere glance back over his work in that medium, bypassing the sunnier moods of the Second and Third symphonies to resume the stern orchestral conversation of the First Symphony. However, the stress and urgency that often characterize the earlier C minor Symphony give way to a sense of power held in reserve in the E minor Symphony. Following the example of his First Symphony (and the previous example of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony), Brahms silences the orchestra’s powerful trombones until the climatic set of 30 baroque-style variations that form the symphony’s giant fourthmovement chaconne. They do not enter the symphonic conversation until they thunderously proclaim the solemn eight-note theme that is repeated over and over as the foundation of its closing movement. Musical influences from the Baroque and even the Renaissance era are evident elsewhere in the symphony, testifying to Brahms’ lifelong interest in music of earlier centuries. The musical fabric of the symphony’s opening sonata movement has a contrapuntal texture that often reminds one of the figuration surrounding the melody of a Bach chorale prelude. The melody that spins itself out in the horns and woodwinds with such lonely Romantic ardor at the beginning of the slow second movement, is constructed upon strict musical principles of earlier eras, extending itself with an upside-down mirror image of its first four notes. And both of these movements are suffused with tonal inflections suggesting the pale modal harmonies of 16th and 17th century music. However, the exuberant thirdmovement Scherzo is an exception, harking back only as far as those explosive orches30 www.houstonsymphony.org

TRAGISCHE OUVERTÜRE (TRAGIC OVERTURE), OPUS 81 Composed: 1880 Recording: Christoph Eschenbach conducting the Houston Symphony (Virgin Classics) Instrumentation: piccolo, pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani and strings Like the opposing masks of comedy and tragedy, Brahms’ Tragic Overture stands as a somber counterpart to his jolly Academic Festival Overture. Though the two overtures were composed in rapid succession, the origins of the Tragic Overture go back 20 years to a 64-measure sketch Brahms noted down on the back of some other sketches he made for his Alto Rhapsody. The sketch represented a second theme and concluding section of a symphonic exposition and when Brahms finally used it in the overture, he fleshed out the texture between the melody and bass lines, making almost no alteration in what he had written. When it came to naming the overture, he vacillated between the words “dramatic” and “tragic,” and both would have described its character equally well. Contemporary commentators wondered if the term “dramatic” meant that Brahms might have written it for some theatrical production, named Goethe’s Faust and Shakespeare’s Hamlet as likely candidates, but modern scholars have pretty well dismissed that possibility. Because it was a work of his high maturity and took the open form of an overture, Brahms treated its themes and its sonata-form structure more freely than he might have done 20 years earlier. Two thunderclap chords introduce the frowning principal theme, which is extensively developed before the violins take up a more lyrical secondary theme. Instead of a formal development section, the pace of the music slows while Brahms transforms a portion of the main theme into a pensive funeral march. After the original tempo is restored, the secondary theme returns followed by a heroic coda based on material from the opening. The printed music for Brahms’ Tragic Overture was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Karl H. Becker.

PROGRAM C NÄNIE (DIRGE) FOR CHORUS AND ORCHESTRA, OPUS 82

Composed: 1880-81 Recording: Robert Shaw conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (Telarc) Instrumentation: pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons and horns, three trombones, timpani, harp and strings In his youth, as well as his full maturity, Brahms could write music that would melt the heart while comforting the grieving soul. Though far less familiar than his famed German Requiem, Brahms’ Nänie is certainly his most beautiful, tender elegy. It was begun shortly after the death of his friend, the neo-classical painter Anselm Feuerbach, in January 1880. For his text, Brahms chose Schiller’s sonnet on the death of beauty, with its haunting images drawn from Greek mythology. Its title, which was taken from the Schiller poem, refers to the Latin term for a funeral song. Like the poetry, the music treats the subject with utmost gentleness in melodic lines that crest in little waves, and then fall quietly back into the contrapuntal texture of the piece. Its central climax describes the nymph Thetis as she and her sisters rise from the sea to mourn her son, Achilles, who fulfilled his destiny by dying at the gates of Troy. As the poem returns to its opening sentiments, Brahms briefly withdraws the instrumental background to let the unaccompanied chorus sing its key message, that “even a dirge on the lips of a loved one is glorious.” The printed music for Brahms’ Nänie was donated by the Houston Symphony Chorus.

PROGRAM C EIN DEUTSCHES REQUIEM, OPUS 45 Composed: 1865-68 Recording: Wolfgang Sawallisch conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus; Margaret Price, soprano; Thomas Allen, baritone (Orfeo) Instrumentation: piccolo, pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, harp, organ and strings In February 1865, a distraught Johannes Brahms was hurriedly summoned to his mother’s bedside, only to find that she had died of a stroke before he arrived. Though most reports have described him as outwardly calm, the cellist Josef Gänsbacher caught him unaware, weeping as he played one of Bach’s keyboard works and told Gänsbacher of his loss. The death of Brahms’ mother is widely regarded as the impetus that finally brought his largest choral-orchestral work to completion during the next two years. But the roots of A German Requiem go back much further. Brahms


..................................................................................................................... had apparently been assembling texts for the work for several years. He also reclaimed a discarded slow movement from keyboard sketches for an unfinished symphony of 1854-55, using it as the stark second movement, “Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras” (“Behold, all flesh is as the grass”), in his German Requiem. Schumann’s mental illness and death in 1856 is thought by some scholars to have given Brahms his first impulse to compose a requiem. Brahms’ bitter disappointment at being passed over for a conducting position with the Hamburg Philharmonic and Singing Academy in 1862 also contributed to a depressed mood that may have finally expressed itself in his mournful work. But Brahms’ quest for solace in the music of Bach at the time of his mother’s death is considered significant to his inspiration in shaping the piece. His texts for its seven movements were taken from the Lutheran Bible rather than the traditional Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead employed by Mozart and Verdi. The first two movements of A German Requiem open with quotations from the melody of the Lutheran chorale tune, “Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten” (“He who would only let God rule”), showing his common recourse with Bach to the use of chorale melodies in the texture of his music. Brahms also followed the example of Bach in adopting the so-called “cantata style” of composition,

featuring soprano or baritone soloists in three of its seven movements. In its original form, Brahms’ German Requiem consisted of only six movements. It did not attain its full seven-movement form until 1868, when Brahms inserted the present fifth movement, “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit” (“You are now sorrowful”), adding a soprano soloist to the performing ensemble. By that time, there had been two performances of the work. In 1867, Johann von Herbeck conducted a disastrous, under-rehearsed performance of the first three movements at a concert by Vienna’s Society for the Friends of Music. A chaotic rendition of the third movement was hissed, and Brahms’ musically talented friend, the physician Theodor Billroth, commented: “His Requiem is so nobly spiritual and so Protestant-Bachish that it was difficult to make it go down here.” But another friend of Brahms, the composer-conductor Albert Dietrich, sent the score to Karl Martin Reinthaler in Bremen, who conducted the first complete six-movement performance in the Bremen Cathedral on Good Friday, April 10, 1868. The acclaim that resulted in the more culturally compatible North German environment catapulted Brahms into lasting fame as an internationally renowned composer. After adding the movement for soprano soloist, the final version was conducted by Carl Reinecke in

Leipzig during February 1869. The work gained performances in more than 20 cities in Germany and Switzerland by the end of that year. By 1875, it had been heard in London, Paris, Utrecht, St. Petersburg, and of course, again in Vienna, where Brahms had long since established his permanent residence. Scholars have taken note of a certain arch form in the work, where aspects of the text and music in earlier movements are correspondingly reflected in their counterparts at the end. Thus, the first and seventh movements (“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall have comfort,” “Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord from henceforth”) tie together the thought of consolation in eternal repose and are set as large, threepart (ABA) choral movements. The second and sixth movements, (“Behold, all flesh is as grass. . . . For the grass withers and the flower decays,” “Here on earth we have no continuing place, even though we seek a future here”) express the impermanence of human existence, changing from moods of dejection to triumph in stirring choral fugues. The third and fifth movements (“Lord, make me know the measure of my days on earth,” “You now are sorrowful, however you shall again behold me and your heart shall be joyful”) are not as closely linked in their textual content or musical form, but both movements add soloists to the choral-orchestral ensemble

September 2012 31


Notes continued........................................................................................... (as does the sixth movement). Considered in this context, the fourth movement (“How lovely are they dwelling places”) stands alone as the centerpiece in Brahms’ German Requiem. This lyrical choral movement has always been a favorite among audiences and is often sung individually at concerts, funerals and memorial services. The entire work has also retained a special place among listeners, although it admittedly represents the attainment of only an early point in Brahms’ mature style. One hears certain squarely shaped phrases, large sections that are not quite seamlessly joined and a certain lean quality in the texture of the music—all of which recall the Brahms of the First Piano Concerto and the First Symphony. The ease and richness of sound that Brahms achieved in works like the Third Symphony and the Second Piano Concerto are more fully echoed in choral-orchestral works that he also wrote some 20 years later, but this commemoration of death faithfully represents a vein of autumnal emotion that ran through his music even at the relatively young age of 36. The printed music for Brahm’s Requiem was donated by the Houston Symphony League in honor of the Houston Symphony Libraries.

PROGRAM D PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 IN B-FLAT MAJOR, OPUS 83 Composed: 1881 Recording: Daniel Barenboim, with Sir John Barbirolli conducting the New Philharmonia Orchestra (EMI Classics) Instrumentation: two flutes (one doubling piccolo), pairs of oboes, clarinets and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings The most famous understatement in the world of music probably belongs to Johannes Brahms, who wrote his friend, Elizabeth von Herzogenberg, in the summer of 1881, confiding that he had written “a tiny, tiny piano concerto with a tiny, tiny wisp of a scherzo.” Brahms was referring to his Second Piano Concerto, the largest, most majestic and probably the most admired of his four works in the concerto medium. He sent the score to his longtime friend, the surgeon and amateur musician Theodor Billroth, with a similar message about “a few small piano pieces.” Though Brahms shyly deprecated the value of this work to his close friends, he honored his greatly esteemed teacher, Eduard Marxsen, by dedicating the new concerto to him the following year. Marxsen, a pianist, composer and pedagogue, had been Brahms’ teacher for more than seven years during his youth in Hamburg. He not only developed Brahms’ formidable keyboard technique, which made him a towering 32 www.houstonsymphony.org

performer during his early career, but also gave Brahms the thorough knowledge of counterpoint and an acquaintance with the works of Bach that was so powerfully reflected in his music. Brahms worked periodically on the concerto over a four-year period beginning in 1878. While there were few fallow moments in his steadily even compositional career, those four years of his life encompassed the creation of some especially warm, emotionally genial works: the Violin Concerto, the Piano Pieces, Opus 76, the Academic Festival Overture and the beautiful but seldom-performed choral-orchestral elegy, Nänie. The Second Piano Concerto might be considered the most expansive and outgoing of all these works, but its Olympian good humor hardly masks the majestic scale of Brahms’ achievement, the rigors of his compositional processes or the ferocious technical demands made upon the soloist. As proof of his ability to meet those demands, the 51-year-old composer was the soloist for the premiere of the concerto in Budapest on November 9, 1881. In addition to the traditional three movements, he added a brusque Scherzo that gives this concerto the architecture and ambitions of a symphony. As in Beethoven’s last two concertos, the piano enters during the introductory section, long before the three main themes have been presented in the orchestral exposition. Its broken-chord dialogue with the solo horn is especially reminiscent of the opening solo-orchestral dialogue Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto. The joyously heroic sonata movement that grows out of it is full of challenging solo passages, as well as thematic and rhythmic transformations that are characteristic of Brahms’ style. A slightly ferocious, growling Brahms emerges in the big D minor Scherzo, whose central section combines a development of its themes with an abbreviated trio section in D major. The song-like slow movement begins and ends with a tenderly lyrical cello solo surrounding a pensive elaboration of its themes by the solo piano. The closing seven-section rondo is the most lighthearted movement of the concerto. Its rollicking, skipping themes sometimes hint at the popular Hungarian dance style that crops up elsewhere in Brahms’ finales.

and bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings

Recording: Christoph Eschenbach conducting the Houston Symphony (Virgin Classics)

Some scholars divide Brahms’ four symphonies into two general categories, ascribing a tragic/heroic character to the C minor and E minor symphonies and a pastoral mood to the two middle symphonies in D major and F major. Actually, the Third Symphony encompasses all these moods in a wondrous interplay of shadow and sunlight. Significantly, its broad range of expressive values is also contained within a shorter time span than any of Brahms’ other three symphonies. Like Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony and Dvorˇák’s Eighth Symphony, the first movement begins with a melodic motto, which is extensively developed and later serves as a milepost marking off the exposition, development, recapitulation and coda of the movement. The three-note motto, F, A-flat, F, not only poses the movement’s light-versus-darkness conflict between F major and F minor, but also symbolizes Brahms’ personal philosophy, “Frei aber froh”/”free but happy.” This musical acrostic served as Brahms’ response to the famed musical motto, F, A, E (“Frei aber einsam”/”free but alone”) adopted by his longtime friend, violinist/ conductor Joseph Joachim. The tightly structured movement is full of the sinewy counterpoint that lends so much strength to Brahms’ music. Though the heaving polyphony of the opening set of themes gives way to a gentler, more relaxed subsidiary theme, a sense of struggle and tension dominates much of the development, recapitulation and the powerful coda, which surprisingly resolves the tonal conflict in a quietly descending F major arpeggio at the very end. The slow movement is a marvel of gentle, deeply personal, even mysterious musical ideas. Its opening clarinet theme has the deceptive simplicity of a folksong, but that simplicity is belied by its highly irregular phrases and cadence patterns. A sense of stillness overtakes the music as clarinets and bassoons intone the modal theme of the middle section, which finally blooms into a soaring, rich-textured melody. The opening theme returns with a much fuller orchestral arrangement. It is followed by a quiet coda. The character of the third movement is more akin to a wistful waltz or intermezzo than a scherzo or minuet. Its yearning cello theme is repeated by the violins and then taken up by the high winds. A quaint trio section, also dominated by wind colors, intervenes before the opening melody returns, this time featuring the solo horn, oboe and finally the strings. The moody finale is the most dramatic of the four movements, reasserting the frowning tonality of F minor in a furtive introductory sec-

Instrumentation: pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets

Continued on page 45

The printed music for Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 was donated by Mr. Joseph J. Vodvarka.

PROGRAM D SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN F MAJOR, OPUS 90 Composed: 1883


Biographies. ..........................................................................................

Ohlsson PROGRAM A

Garrick Ohlsson, piano

Huang PROGRAM B

Frank Huang, violin

First Prize Winner of the 2003 Walter W. Naumburg Foundation’s Violin Competition and the 2000 Hannover International Violin Competition, Frank Huang has an established career as a violin virtuoso. At age 11, he first performed with the Houston Symphony in a nationally broadcast concert and has served as the orchestra’s concertmaster since 2010. He has performed with orchestras throughout the world, including the Cleveland and Genoa Orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Saint Paul and Amadeus! Chamber Orchestras, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the NDR Radio Philharmonic of Hannover. Recent concerts include debuts in Wigmore Hall (London), Salle Cortot (Paris), Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.) and Herbst Theatre (San Francisco). His second recital in Alice Tully Hall featured the world premiere of Donald Martino’s Sonata for Solo Violin. Huang has performed on NPR’s Performance Today, Good Morning America and CNN’s American Morning. His first com-

mercial recording, with Fantasies by Schubert, Ernst, Schoenberg and Waxman, was released on Naxos in 2003. He has performed in competitions with top prize awards in the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition and the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. He received Gold Medals in the Kingsville International Competition, the Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the D’Angelo Young Artist Competition. Deeply committed to chamber music, Huang has attended the Marlboro Chamber Music Festival, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, The Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Summer Festival and the Caramoor Festival; he frequently participates in Musicians From Marlboro tours. He was selected by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center to be a member of the prestigious Chamber Music II program. Huang was previously first violinist of the Grammy® awardwinning Ying Quartet and on faculty at the Eastman School of Music. Huang is a faculty member at Rice University and the University of Houston and teaches during the summers at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Texas Music Festival and South Korea’s Great Mountains International Music Festival. He performs with pianist Gilles Vonsattel and cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, and serves as concertmaster and leader of Sejong, a conductorless chamber orchestra in New York.

Smith

Pianist Garrick Ohlsson has established himself as a musician of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess. Though long regarded as one of the world’s leading exponents of Frédéric Chopin, Ohlsson commands an enormous repertoire ranging over the entire piano literature, and is noted for his masterly performances of the works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, as well as the Romantic repertoire. His concerto repertoire alone ranges from Haydn and Mozart to works of the 21st century – to date he has at his command more than 80 concertos. The 2012-13 season begins with performances of Busoni’s piano concerto with the European Union Youth Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda including the Edinburgh International Festival. He returns to the U.K. for performances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra followed by a tour in Australia and a live recording of both Brahms concerti. Concerts with the Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst will be reprised during the orchestra’s winter residency in Florida. Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto conducted by Sir Mark Elder with the Chicago Symphony is programmed, followed by a Kennedy Center appearance with the Iceland Symphony as part of the Center’s Nordic Festival, and a short east coast tour with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. Ohlsson will also appear as a soloist with the Boston Symphony at Carnegie Hall conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. Other U.S. appearances include return visits to the orchestras of Minnesota, Dallas, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Baltimore. A prolific recording artist, Ohlsson can be heard on various labels including Bridge Records where his 10-disc set of the complete Beethoven sonatas is now complete and garnered a Grammy® for Vol. 3. His recording of Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3 with the Atlanta Symphony and Robert Spano was released in 2011. In 2008, Hyperion re-released his 16disc set of the complete works of Chopin, and recently released a disc of all the Brahms piano

variations, and Granados’s Goyescas, to be followed later this year by piano music of Charles Griffes. Forthcoming releases in his ongoing plans with Bridge Records include a “20th Century Recital” and works of Franz Liszt. A native of White Plains, N.Y., Ohlsson began his piano studies at 8 at the Westchester Conservatory of Music, followed by entering The Juilliard School in New York City at 13. He has been influenced in completely different ways by a succession of distinguished teachers, most notably Claudio Arrau, Olga Barabini, Tom Lishman, Sascha Gorodnitzki, Rosina Lhévinne and Irma Wolpe. Although he won First Prizes at the 1966 Busoni Competition in Italy and the 1968 Montréal Piano Competition, it was his 1970 triumph with a Gold Medal at the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, that brought him worldwide recognition. He was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 1994 and received the 1998 University Musical Society Distinguished Artist Award in Ann Arbor, MI.

PROGRAM B

Brinton Averil Smith, cello

Hailed by Newsday for “extraordinary musicianship . . . forceful, sophisticated and entirely in the spirit of the music,” cellist Brinton Averil Smith has performed throughout the world, receiving widespread acclaim for combining virtuosic technique with musical ideals rooted in the golden age of string playing. Smith is the principal cellist of the Houston Symphony and a faculty member of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. His debut recording of Miklós Rózsa’s Cello Concerto with the New Zealand Symphony September 2012 33


Biographies continued.......................................................................................... Orchestra won praise throughout the international press, with Gramophone praising Smith as a “hugely eloquent, impassioned soloist.” His recording of chamber music of Fauré with Gil Shaham was chosen by numerous critics as one of the year’s best albums. As a chamber musician, Smith has collaborated with Shaham, Yo-Yo Ma, Cho-Liang Lin, Lynn Harrell, Sarah Chang, Dawn Upshaw and members of the Beaux Arts Trio and the Guarneri, Emerson, Juilliard, Cleveland and Alban Berg quartets. He was previously a member of the New York Philharmonic and the principal cellist of the San Diego Symphony and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. His performances have been broadcast throughout the world including, in the U.S., on CBS Sunday Morning and NPR’s Performance Today and SymphonyCast. At age 10, Smith was admitted part-time to Arizona State University, studying mathematics, music and German; he completed a B.A. in mathematics at age 17. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees from Juilliard, studying with renowned cellist Zara Nelsova and writing on the playing of Emanuel Feuermann. For further information, visit brintonaverilsmith.com.

the Utah Symphony, and Bach Cantatas with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In addition, she also sang and recorded Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3 with the New York Philharmonic. In the summer, Morley appeared as Roxana in a new production of King Roger with Santa Fe Opera. Upcoming engagements include principal roles at the Metropolitan Opera, the Opéra National de Paris, the Wiener Staatsoper, and the Bayerische Staatsoper. A 2010 graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Morley has sung several roles at the Met, most recently in Robert Lepage’s new Ring Cycle: the Woodbird in Siegfried, Woglinde in Götterdämmerung, and Woglinde in Das Rheingold; she was also Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos, the Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel, and the Daughter in The Nose. She completed her Artist Diploma at the Juilliard Opera Center in 2007, where she received the Florence & Paul DeRosa Prize, and earned her Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School and her Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. She won 1st Place in the Licia Albanese – Puccini Foundation Competition in 2006, and 3rd Place in London’s Wigmore Hall International Song Competition in 2009.

Erin Morley, soprano

Erin Morley is one of today’s most promising lyric coloratura sopranos. Her breakthrough performance as Marguerite de Valois in Les Huguenots at Bard SummerScape was hailed by The New York Times as “formidable” and by The Wall Street Journal as “spectacular.” This season, Morley returns to the Metropolitan Opera for Sister Constance in Dialogues des Carmélites. In concert, she will sing in Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 “Lobgesang” with the Utah Symphony and will make her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Orff’s Carmina Burana. On the concert stage, Morley performed Carmina Burana with the New York Philharmonic and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with 34 www.houstonsymphony.org

Biss

Storgårds

Morley PROGRAM C

Orchestras, as well as all of the major Scandinavian orchestras. In North America, he has performed with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Cincinnati, Boston, National and Toronto Symphony Orchestras. This season, he debuts with the St. Louis Symphony, Detroit and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. He regularly collaborates with soloists like Gil Shaham, Christian Tetzlaff, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Colin Currie, Håkan Hardenberger and Sabine Meyer. In the opera field, Storgårds recently conducted Verdi’s Don Carlos at Tampere Opera and gave the Finnish premiere of Rodion Shchedrin’s The Enchanted Wanderer. This season, he conducts a new opera by Uljas Pulkkis with the Chamber Orchestra of Lapland at the Helsinki Festival. His discography includes the award-winning Vasks’ Violin Concerto Distant Light and Second Symphony, Saariaho’s Graal Théâtre, the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Frank Peter Zimmermann and, most recently, a disc of works by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. His next recording project will be the complete Sibelius symphonies with the BBC Philharmonic for Chandos Records. John Storgårds was concertmaster of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra during Esa-Pekka Salonen’s tenure and subsequently studied conducting with Jorma Panula and Eri Klas. He received the Finnish State Prize for Music in 2002.

PROGRAM D, E

John Storgårds, conductor

Chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and principal guest conductor of BBC Philharmonic beginning in the 2012-13 season, John Storgårds is one of Finland’s exceptional artists, recognized as a conductor, violinist and creative programmer. He also serves as artistic director of the Chamber Orchestra of Lapland. His last appearance with the Houston Symphony was in February 2012 conducting Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Internationally, Storgårds has appeared with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Philharmonique de Radio France, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand Symphony

PROGRAM D, E

Jonathan Biss, piano

American pianist Jonathan Biss is widely regarded for his artistry, musical intelligence and deeply felt interpretations, winning international recognition for his orchestral, recital and chamber music performances and for his award-winning recordings. Described by The New Yorker as playing with “unerring sophistication,” Biss made his New York Philharmonic debut in 2001 and since then has appeared with the foremost orchestras of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.


..........................................

Alexandra Adkins, violin

Texas native Alexandra Adkins joined the first violin section of the Houston Symphony in 2000. Prior to her appointment in Houston, she was a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio and appeared frequently with the Dallas and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. Her playing has been described by the Dallas Morning News with phrases such as “impressive virtuosity,” “spirited, suave playing” and her personal favorite, “earthily irresistible.” She last appeared as a soloist with the Houston Symphony in March 2009. While earning degrees in music from the University of North Texas and the University

© Eric Arbiter

Mark Hughes “knows how to spin out a long line with the eloquence of a gifted singer,” says Derrick Henry of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. Hughes developed his abilities while a student at Northwestern University where he studied with the late Vincent Cichowicz of the Chicago Symphony. After graduation, he was selected to be in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago allowing him to be a scholarship student with Adolph Herseth, the legendary principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony. Hughes then began touring with Richard Morris as the popular organ and trumpet duo, “Toccatas and Flourishes,” performing through-

Sophia Silivos, violin

© lawrence p. lander

Mark Hughes, trumpet

of Michigan, she was awarded fellowships to the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival and the Solti Orchestral Project at Carnegie Hall. In 2011, Adkins released her debut solo album, Offering, a project which explores her love of spiritually connective classical music, as well as her interest in songwriting. All profits from this album benefit Tumaini Orphanage in Soy, Kenya. The album is available at the Symphony Store, iTunes and www.cdbaby.com/ cd/alexandraadkins. Adkins spends her time offstage pursuing interests in biblical studies and school-age child disaster management. She enjoys adventures with her husband, Steve, and their sons, Noah and Gabriel, and enjoying beauty wherever it is found.

Silivos

National Flute Association Convention, a fourday extravaganza that celebrates the flute. In the orchestral world, Dines has performed selected weeks with the National Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. Born in Washington, D.C., Judy Dines attended Temple University in Philadelphia and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore before coming to Houston. She joined the Houston Symphony in 1992.

Adkins

from page 21

Hughes is currently principal trumpet of the Houston Symphony, a position he has held since 2006. He has appeared as soloist with the orchestra on several occasions, including the performance of the Shostakovich Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Trumpet with Jon Kimura Parker, a performance heard nationally on American Public Radio’s SymphonyCast. Since his arrival in Houston, Hughes has performed and recorded with the Boston and Chicago Symphonies, and continues to be in demand as a soloist, with orchestras and in recital. Each summer, Hughes also serves on the faculties of the Brevard Music Center and the Texas Music Festival.

© Eric Arbiter

Biographies continued.......

out the U.S. and Canada. His appointment as associate principal trumpet with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra followed, a position he held for 12 years. During his time with the ASO, he appeared as soloist with the orchestra on numerous occasions, performed on dozens of recordings, and was an active studio musician.

Hughes

An avid writer, Biss also is the first classical musician to release a Kindle Single. His 19,000word work titled Beethoven’s Shadow was released by RosettaBooks for sale on Amazon. com in December 2011. The Kindle Single complemented the January 2012 release of Biss’ first Beethoven recording on the Onyx Classics label, the inaugural volume of his nine-year, nine-disc survey of Beethoven’s complete Piano Sonatas. Biss’ next project involves an exploration of the life and works of Robert Schumann with performances at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music, with the San Francisco Symphony and at Carnegie Hall in New York. Born in 1980, Biss represents the third generation in a family of professional musicians that includes his grandmother Raya Garbousova, one of the first well-known female cellists (for whom Samuel Barber composed his Cello Concerto), and his parents, violinist Miriam Fried and violist/violinist, Paul Biss. Growing up surrounded by music, Biss began his piano studies at age 6; his first musical collaborations were with his parents. He studied at Indiana University with Evelyne Brancart and at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Leon Fleisher. In 2010, he was appointed to the piano faculty of The Curtis Institute. For more information about Jonathan Biss and to read his blog about is life as a musician, visit www. jonathanbiss.com.

Biographies continued............................................

Sophia Silivos has been a violinist with the Houston Symphony since 1992. She began her career as first violinist of the Dakota Quartet and was then named principal second violinist of the New Mexico Symphony. She has performed as a soloist with the Houston Symphony before and served as associate concertmaster for the 2005-06 season. An ardent proponent of chamber music, she has appeared with ensembles throughout the United States and has performed live for public radio stations in Chicago, Houston and Minneapolis. Here in Texas, she is a featured violinist for the St. Cecilia Concert Series and has performed in chamber music collaborations for the Texas Music Festival, Greenbriar and Foundation for Modern Music. She has served on the faculties of the University of Houston and Augustana College and also teaches privately and gives master classes. In the summer of 2007, Silivos was invited to participate in a three-week tour of China, performing solos with orchestra, performing recitals and giving master classes. A former student and assistant to world-renowned pedagogue Josef Gingold at Indiana University, Silivos was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate for her Master’s recital. She received an Artist Diploma while studying with Donald Weilerstein at the Cleveland Institute of Music. September 2012 35


Houston Symphony Chorus.............................................................................. Photo by jeff fitlow

Hausmann Charles Hausmann, director

Dr. Charles S. Hausmann was named director of the Houston Symphony Chorus in 1986 and celebrated his 25th anniversary last season. He has prepared the group for more than 600 concerts, led them on numerous tours to Mexico and Europe, and worked with more than 40 acclaimed conductors, including Hans Graf, Christoph Eschenbach, Claus Peter Flor and Robert Shaw. His extensive repertoire includes most of the major choral/orchestral masterworks. As director of graduate choral studies and professor of conducting at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music since 1985, Hausmann supervises the master’s and doctoral programs in choral conducting, teaches choral conducting and literature and conducts the Moores School Choral Artists— a graduate chamber choir. An active church musician, he has conducted church choirs in Colorado, Kentucky, New Jersey and Texas. He currently serves as director of Choral Music at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston where he led the Houston Symphony and Chorus in a performance of Mendelssohn’s St. Paul (Spring 2008). Hausmann frequently appears as a guest conductor, lecturer, clinician and soloist. He led the Chorus on its fourth European tour in 2007, appearing as guest conductor during the Prague Spring Festival. He and the Chorus share a collaboration with Mexico City’s Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, and performed Mendelssohn’s Elijah with former Houston Symphony Associate Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto.

Support the Houston Symphony Chorus Endowment The Houston Symphony Chorus Endowment supports activities that enrich Houston’s musical life and enhance the high professional standards of the all-volunteer Chorus. For more on how you can help ensure the artistic future of the Chorus, call Darryl de Mello, Annual Fund Manager, at (713) 337-8529 or visit hschorus.org. 36 www.houstonsymphony.org

Charles Hausmann, Director Paulo Gomes Assistant Director

Sarah Berggren Chorus Manager

First Soprano Ramona Alms Alice Beckstrom Sarah Berggren Robyn Branning Laura Christian Anna Diemer Clarice Gatlin Marta Giles Amanda Harris Amy Ingram Sarah Keifer Jennifer Klein Salyer Veronica Lorine *Pamela Magnuson Rita Minter Theresa Olin Karen Rennar Wendy Ridings Rhonda Ryan Heidi Sanders Beth Slaughter Deborah Spencer Ryan Stickney Lisa Trewin Tania Van Dongen Lindsey Webb Beth Anne Weidler Pamela Wilhite

First Alto Krista Borstell Patricia Bumpus Barbara Bush Thea Chapman Elizabeth Chitwood Nancy Christopherson Robin Clarkson Christine Economides Mary Gahr • Susan Hall Linda Herron Judy Hill Berma Kinsey Joyce Lewis Mary Lopushanky *Lisa Morfin Cynthia Mulder Linda Renner Linda Richardson Carolyn Rogan Holly Rubbo June Russell Maria Schoen Andrea Slack Vicki Westbrook Bonnie Wilson Patsy Wilson Shelby Wilson

Second Soprano Yoset Altamirano Lisa Anders Laura Bohlmann • Nancy Bratic Anne Campbell Diana Candida Debby Cutler Vickie Davis Corita Dubose Kellie Garden Debbie Hannah • Megan Henry Amanda Hopping *Sylvia Hysong Yukiko Iwata sNatalia Kalitynska sSapna Kumar Rashida Moore • Carol Ostlind Linda Peters Belinda Rossiter Susan Scarrow Vicki Seldon Megan Kennedy Shedden Paige Sommer Veronica A. Stevens Cecilia Sun Susan Thacker Nancy Vernau

Second Alto Melissa Bailey Adams • Sarah Wilson Clark M. Evelyn Clift Rochella Cooper Cecilia Corredor Andrea Creath Robin Dunn Holly Eaton Rachel El-Saleh Thi Ha Denise Holmes Catherine Howard Lois Howell *Crystal Meadows Lynne Moneypenny Nina Peropoulos Laurie Reynolds Holly Soehnge Mary Voigt Kat White Kaye Windel-Garza First Tenor Robert Browning James R. Carazola Patrick Drake Richard Field • Robert Gomez James Patrick Hanley Steven Hazel Donald Howie Francisco J. Izaguirre Christopher Lund Darrell Mayon *Jim Moore Peter Peropoulos

Scott Holshouser Accompanist Bradley Persinger Douglas Rodenberger David Schoen Tony Sessions Charles Thornburg Aaron Verber Second Tenor Bob Alban Jeff Bingham Randy Boatright Harvey Bongers Donn Dubois Jorge Fandino Mark Ferring Joseph Frybert John Grady Craig Hill Philip Lewis Micah Meads William L. Mize Dave Nussmann Greg Railsback Rick Selby Lesley C. Sommer Dewell Springer Tony Vazquez Leonardo Veletzuy *Lee Williams First Bass Jonathan Aigner Joe Anzaldua Rich Arenschieldt Greg Barra Justin Becker Eldo Bergman Claude Bitner John Bond Bruce Boyle Adam Britcher Peter Christian Steve Dukes Leigh Fernau Will Hailey Taylor Harper Scott Hassett Stephen M. James *Jay Lopez Clemente Mathis William McCallum Chris Ming Matt Neufeld Kevin Newman David Salazar Gary Scullin Mark Standridge Paul Van Dorn Joe Villarreal Kevin Wallace Sean Warley Second Bass Steve Abercia *Wilton T. Adams Keith Burton Bill Cheadle

Tony Sessions Librarian John Colson Roger Cutler Paul Ehrsam Tom Everage Chris Fair Ian Fetterley David M. Fox Yevgeny Genin Michael Gilbert Matt Henderson Terry Henderson George Howe Cletus Johnson Nobuhide Kobori Alan MacAdams • Ken Mathews Bryan J. McMicken Scott Mermelstein Clyde L. Miner Greg Nelson Bill Parker John Proffitt Robert Reynolds Daniel Robertson Doug Sander Andrew Shramm Eric Skelly James Wilhite

* Section Leader • Council Member sGrand Chorus Member

As of August 1, 2012


Symphony Society Board. ................................................................................. Executive Committee............................................................................................... President Robert A. Peiser

Chairman of the Board Jesse B. Tutor

Executive Director/CEO Mark C. Hanson

Vice President, Finance Robert A. Peiser

Past President Robert B. Tudor III

Chairman Emeritus Mike Stude

Vice President, Artistic and Orchestra Affairs Justice Brett Busby Vice President, Popular Programming Allen Gelwick Vice President, Audience Development and Marketing Gloria G. Pryzant President, Endowment Steven P. Mach

Vice President, Board Governance and Secretary Steven P. Mach Vice President, Education Cora Sue Mach General Counsel Paul R. Morico At-Large Members Marie Bosarge Gene Dewhurst Barbara McCelvey Helen Shaffer Jim R. Smith

Vice President, Volunteers David Wuthrich Vice President, Development Jerome Simon EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

Martha García, Assistant Secretary Mark Hughes, Orchestra Representative Rodney Margolis Burke Shaw, Orchestra Representative Susan Osterberg, President, Houston Symphony League Brinton Averil Smith, Orchestra Representative Ed Wulfe, Immediate Past Chair

Governing Directors..................................................................................................... * Janice Barrow Danielle Batchelor Darlene Bisso Anthony Bohnert Marie Bosarge Terry Ann Brown Ralph Burch Justice Brett Busby Janet Clark Michael H. Clark Ryan Colburn Scott Cutler Lorraine Dell Viviana Denechaud Gene Dewhurst Michael Doherty Susanna Dokupil

Kelli Cohen Fein Julia Frankel David Frankfort Allen Gelwick Mauro Gimenez Stephen Glenn Susan Hansen Gary L. Hollingsworth Brian James Ulyesse LeGrange Rochelle Levit Cora Sue Mach Steven P. Mach * Rodney Margolis Jay Marks Mary Lynn Marks Jackie Wolens Mazow

Billy McCartney Barbara McCelvey * Alexander K. McLanahan Kevin Meyers Paul Morico Arthur Newman Robert A. Peiser Geoffroy Petit David Pruner Stephen Pryor Gloria G. Pryzant Ron Rand Kathi Rovere John Rydman Manolo Sanchez Helen Shaffer Jerome Simon

Jim R. Smith David Steakley Mike Stude Ileana Treviño * Robert B. Tudor III * Betty Tutor * Jesse B. Tutor Margaret Waisman Fredric A. Weber Vicki West Margaret Alkek Williams * Ed Wulfe David Wuthrich Robert A. Yekovich

Samuel Abraham Philip Bahr Devinder Bhatia Meherwan Boyce Walter Bratic Prentiss Burt Lynn Caruso * John T. Cater Audrey Cochran Mark Day Louis DeLone Tom Fitzpatrick Craig A. Fox Stanley Haas Eric Haufrect

Kathleen Hayes Catherine Kaldis Joan Kaplan I. Ray Kirk Roslyn Larkey Nancy Littlejohn Carolyn Mann Paul M. Mann Judy Margolis David Massin Brian McCabe * Gene McDavid Marilyn Miles Michael Mithoff Tassie Nicandros

Scott Nyquist Edward Osterberg Jr. Roman F. Reed Richard Robbins * J. Hugh Roff Jr. Mark Schusterman * Michael E. Shannon Jule Smith David Tai Michael Tenzer L. Proctor (Terry) Thomas Stephen G. Tipps Mrs. S. Conrad Weil Robert Weiner David Ashley White

James T. Willerson Steven J. Williams Ex-Officio Martha García Mark C. Hanson Mark Hughes Susan Osterberg Burke Shaw Brinton Averil Smith Carole Murphy

Trustees. .................................................................................................................

* Life Trustee

............................................................................................................................ ENDOWMENT TRUSTEES Steven P. Mach, President Prentiss Burt Janet Clark Marilyn Miles Michael Mithoff Jesse B. Tutor Past Presidents of the Houston Symphony Society Mrs. Edwin B. Parker Miss Ima Hogg Mrs. H. M. Garwood Joseph A. Mullen, M.D. Joseph S. Smith Walter H. Walne H. R. Cullen Gen. Maurice Hirsch Charles F. Jones

Fayez Sarofim John T. Cater Richard G. Merrill Ellen Elizardi Kelley John D. Platt E. C. Vandagrift Jr. J. Hugh Roff Jr. Robert M. Hermance Gene McDavid Janice H. Barrow Barry C. Burkholder Rodney H. Margolis Jeffrey B. Early Michael E. Shannon Ed Wulfe Jesse B. Tutor Robert B. Tudor III

Past Presidents of the Houston Symphony League Miss Ima Hogg Mrs. John F. Grant Mrs. J. R. Parten Mrs. Andrew E. Rutter Mrs. Aubrey Leon Carter Mrs. Stuart Sherar Mrs. Julian Burrows Ms. Hazel Ledbetter Mrs. Albert P. Jones Mrs. Ben A. Calhoun Mrs. James Griffith Lawhon Mrs. Olaf La Cour Olsen Mrs. Ralph Ellis Gunn Mrs. Leon Jaworski Mrs. Garrett R. Tucker Jr. Mrs. M. T. Launius Jr.

Mrs. Thompson McCleary Mrs. Theodore W. Cooper Mrs. Allen H. Carruth Mrs. David Hannah Jr. Mary Louis Kister Ellen Elizardi Kelley Mrs. John W. Herndon Mrs. Charles Franzen Mrs. Harold R. DeMoss Jr. Mrs. Edward H. Soderstrom Mrs. Lilly Kucera Andress Ms. Marilou Bonner Mrs. W. Harold Sellers Mrs. Harry H. Gendel Mrs. Robert M. Eury Mrs. E. C. Vandagrift Jr. Mrs. J. Stephen Marks Terry Ann Brown Nancy Strohmer

Mary Ann McKeithan Ann Cavanaugh Mrs. James A. Shaffer Lucy H. Lewis Catherine McNamara Shirley McGregor Pearson Paula Jarrett Cora Sue Mach Kathi Rovere Norma Jean Brown Barbara McCelvey Lori Sorcic Nancy Willerson Jane Clark Nancy Littlejohn Donna Shen

September 2012 37


The Houston Symphony Endowment Trust..................................................... The Houston Symphony Endowment Trust is a separate nonprofit organization that invests contributions to earn income for the benefit of the Houston Symphony Society. Steven P. Mach, President Prentiss Burt

Trustees Janet Clark Marilyn Miles

Michael Mithoff Jesse B. Tutor

An endowed fund can be permanently established within the Houston Symphony Society through a direct contribution or via a planned gift such as a bequest. The fund can be designated for general purposes or specific interests. For further information, please contact David Chambers, Chief Development Officer, at (713) 337-8525, Mark Folkes, Director, Individual Giving and Major Gifts, at (713) 337-8521 or Stephanie Ann Jones, Senior Director, Events and League Relations at (713) 337-8526. The Houston Symphony acknowledges with deep gratitude the following individuals, corporations, foundations and government agencies who have supported the Endowment. General Endowment Funds that support operational and annual activities: Accenture (Anderson Consulting) Fund AIG American General Fund Mr. & Mrs. Philip Bahr Fund Janice H. & Thomas D. Barrow Fund Mrs. Ermy Borlenghi Bonfield Fund The Charles Engelhard Foundation Fund Jane & Robert Cizik Fund Mr. Lee A. Clark Fund Cooper Industries, Inc. Fund Gene & Linda Dewhurst Fund Du Pont Corporation Fund Elkins Charitable Trust Agency Fund The Margaret & James A. Elkins Foundation Fund Virginia Lee Elverson Trust Fund Charles Engelhard Foundation Fund William Stamps Farish Fund Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein & Martin J. Fein Fund

Stephen & Mariglyn Glenn Fund Jo A. & Billie Jo Graves Fund George & Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation Fund Dr. Gary L. Hollingsworth & Dr. Ken Hyde Fund Houston Arts Combined Endowment Fund Drs. M.S. & Marie-Luise Kalsi Fund Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Kaplan Fund Ann Kennedy & Geoffrey Walker Fund Martha Kleymeyer Fund Rochelle & Max Levit Fund Mr. E. W. Long Jr. Fund M.D. Anderson Foundation Fund Rodney H. Margolis Fund Jay & Shirley Marks Fund Mr. & Mrs. J. Stephen Marks Fund/The Marks Charitable Foundation Marian & Speros Martel Foundation Fund Barbara & Pat McCelvey Fund The Menil Foundation Fund

Monroe Mendelsohn, Jr. Estate Sue A. Morrison & Children Fund National Endowment for the Arts Fund Stewart Orton Fund Papadopoulos Fund Nancy & Robert Peiser Fund Rockwell Fund, Inc. Fund Mr. & Mrs. Clive Runnells Fund Estate of Mr. Walter W. Sapp Fund Mr. & Mrs. Matt K. Schatzman Fund The Schissler Foundation Fund Mr. & Mrs. James A. Shaffer Fund Mr. & Mrs. William T. Slick Jr. Fund Texas Eastern Fund Bobby and Phoebe Tudor Fund Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Fund Dede & Connie Weil Fund The Wortham Foundation Fund Anonymous (5)

Designated funds to support annual performance activity: The Brown Foundation Guest Pianist Fund The Cullen Foundation Maestro’s Fund General & Mrs. Maurice Hirsch Memorial Concert Fund in memory of Theresa Meyer and Jules Hirsch, beloved parents of General Maurice Hirsch, and Rosetta Hirsch Weil and Josie Hirsch Bloch, beloved sisters of General Maurice Hirsch. The Houston Symphony Chorus Endowment Fund Fayez Sarofim Guest Violinist Fund through The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts The Wortham Foundation Classical Series Fund endowed in memory of Gus S. and Lyndall F. Wortham Endowed Chairs to assist the Houston Symphony attract, retain and support world class conductors, musicians and guest artists: Janice and Thomas Barrow Chair: Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Cello Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair: Hans Graf, Music Director Fondren Foundation Chair: Qi Ming, Assistant Concertmaster Hewlett-Packard Company Chair: Marina Brubaker, First Violin General Maurice Hirsch Chair: Aralee Dorough, Principal Flute Ellen E. Kelley Chair: Eric Halen, Associate Concertmaster Max Levine Chair: Frank Huang, Concertmaster Cornelia and Meredith Long Chair: Assia Dulgerska, Assistant Concertmaster George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Chair: Mark Hughes, Principal Trumpet Tassie and Constantine S. Nicandros Chair: Alexander Potiomkin, Bass Clarinet Lucy Binyon Stude Chair: Jonathan Fischer, Principal Oboe Endowed funds to support the Houston Symphony’s annual education and community engagement activities: Margarett and Alice Brown Endowment Fund for Education Lawrence E. Carlton M.D. Endowment Fund for Youth Programs The William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs Spec’s Charitable Foundation Salute to Educators Concert Fund Endowed funds to support new commissions and innovative artistic projects: The Micajah S. Stude Special Production Fund Endowed funds to support access and expand geographic reach: The Alice and David C. Bintliff Messiah Concert fund for performances at First Methodist Church The Brown Foundation’s Miller Outdoor Theatre Fund in honor of Hanni Orton and in memory of Stewart Orton Mach Family Audience Development Fund George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Summer Concerts Fund Endowed funds to support electronic media initiatives: The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Fund for Creative Initiatives Legacy commitments through The Brown Foundation Challenge to support artistic excellence: Janet. F Clark Gloria Goldblatt Pryzant Mr. and Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Legacy Society Chair: Wayne Brooks, Principal Viola Ms. Vicki West in honor of Hans Graf Anonymous (1)

38 www.houstonsymphony.org


Houston Symphony Donors.............................................................................. The Sustainability Fund

The Houston Symphony pays special tribute to those who support our Sustainability Fund, whose extraordinary leadership investment has made it possible for the Symphony to provide the deep level of cultural service so richly deserved by the communities of the greater Houston area and Gulf Coast region. For further information about The Sustainability Fund, please contact Mark C. Hanson, Executive Director/CEO, at (713) 238-1412.

Houston Endowment The Estate of Jean R. Sides

Bobby & Phoebe Tudor Mrs. Alfred C. Glassell Jr.

Annual Support

The Houston Symphony gratefully acknowledges those who support our artistic, educational and community engagement programs through their generosity to our Annual Fund and our Special Events. Below is a listing of those who have so generously given within the past year. We are honored to count these donors among our closest Houston Symphony friends, and we invite you to consider becoming a member of one of our giving societies. For more information, please contact David Chambers, Chief Development Officer, at (713) 337-8525.

Leadership Circle

Ima Hogg Society $150,000 or More

Dr. Ed & Mrs. Marie T. Bosarge Lieutenant Governor & Mrs. David H. Dewhurst Mrs. Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Mr. George P. Mitchell John & Lindy Rydman / Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods Mr. M. S. Stude Bobby & Phoebe Tudor Margaret Alkek Williams Anonymous (1) Centennial Society $100,000 - $149,000 Jane & Robert Cizik Beth Madison Barbara & Pat McCelvey Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor

President’s Society $75,000 - $99,999 Nancy & Robert Peiser

Maestro’s Society $50,000 - $74,999 Mr. & Mrs. Philip A. Bahr Janice Barrow Darlene & Cappy Bisso Gene & Linda Dewhurst Mr. Monzer Hourani Drs. M.S. & Marie-Luise Kalsi Cora Sue & Harry Mach Joella & Steven P. Mach Mr. & Mrs. James A. Shaffer Mr. & Mrs. Jim R. Smith

Concertmaster’s Society $25,000 - $49,999

Mr. & Mrs. Edward F. Blackburne Jr. Mr. Michael H. Clark & Ms. Sallie Morian Mr. & Mrs. Russell M. Frankel Mr. & Mrs. Melbern G. Glasscock Stephen & Mariglyn Glenn Maestro Hans Graf & Mrs. Graf Jo A. & Billie Jo Graves Mr. & Mrs. Robert M. Griswold Dr. Gary L. Hollingsworth & Dr. Ken Hyde

Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Kaplan Mr. & Mrs. Ulyesse J. LeGrange Rochelle & Max Levit Cornelia & Meredith Long Mr. & Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan Dave & Alie Pruner Ann & Hugh Roff Mrs. Sybil F. Roos Anonymous (3) September 2012 39


Houston Symphony Donors........................................................................................ Conductor’s Circle, Platinum Baton $15,000-$24,999 Mr. Gary V. Beauchamp & Ms. Marian Wilfert Beauchamp Mr. Ralph Burch Justice Brett & Erin Busby Janet F. Clark Donna & Max Chapman Audrey & Brandon Cochran Dr. & Mrs. Alexander Dell

Allen & Almira Gelwick Lockton Companies Susan & Dick Hansen Dr. & Mrs. Michael Mann Mr. & Mrs. Rodney H. Margolis Mr. & Mrs. Billy McCartney Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan E. Parker William J. Rovere & Kathi F. Rovere Mr. & Mrs. Clive Runnells

Mr. Walter & Mrs. Maryjane Scherr Laura & Michael Shannon Julia & Albert Smith Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Robert R. Springob, Laredo Construction, Inc. David & Paula Steakley Mr. & Mrs. Fredric A. Weber Dede & Connie Weil Anonymous (1)

Conductor’s Circle, Gold Baton $10,000-$14,999 Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Abraham Rolaine & Morrie Abramson Robin Angly & Miles Smith Mr. & Mrs. David J. Beck Dr. Alan Bentz & Ms. Sallymoon S. Benz Dr. & Mrs. Meherwan P. Boyce Mr. & Mrs. Walter Bratic Ruth White Brodsky Dennis & Susan Carlyle Dr. Scott Cutler Mr. Richard Danforth Leslie Barry Davidson & W. Robins Brice Mr. & Mrs. Michael Dokupil Mrs. William Estrada Aubrey & Sylvia Farb

Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein & Martin J. Fein Angel & Craig Fox Mr. David Frankfort & Ms. Erika Bermeo Mr. & Mrs. Fred L. Gorman Christina & Mark Hanson Dr. & Mrs. I. Ray Kirk Dr. & Mrs. Paul M. Mann Mr. & Mrs. J. Stephen Marks Jay & Shirley Marks Dr. & Mrs. Malcolm L. Mazow Brian & Elisabeth McCabe Betty & Gene McDavid Miss Catherine Jane Merchant Mr. & Mrs. Edward C. Osterberg Jr. Mr. & Mrs. James Postl

Gloria & Joe Pryzant Mr. & Mrs. Haag Sherman Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Simon Mr. Louis H. Skidmore Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Tad Smith Mr. James Stein Paul Strand Thomas Stephen & Pamalah Tipps Ms. Judith Vincent Margaret Waisman, M.D. & Steven S. Callahan, Ph.D. Vicki West Mr. & Mrs. Steven Jay Williams

Conductor’s Circle, Silver Baton $7,500-$9,999 Mr. & Mrs. Joshua L. Batchelor Mrs. Bonnie Bauer Dr. & Mrs. Devinder Bhatia Mr. & Mrs. Charles G. Black III Mr. & Mrs. Walter V. Boyle Mrs. Catherine Campbell Brock & Dr. Gary Brock Ms. Terry A. Brown Mr. & Mrs. Noel Coon Judge & Mrs. Harold DeMoss Jr. Mr. & Mrs. David Denechaud Mr. Mauro Gimenez & Ms. Connie Coulomb Mr. & Mrs. Frank Herzog Mr. Brian James

Mrs. Gloria Pepper & Dr. Bernard Katz Mr. & Mrs. Thomas J. Lykos Jr. Dr. & Mrs. Robert M. Mihalo Cameron Mitchell Sidney & Ione Moran Mr. & Mrs. Lucian L. Morrison Jr. Sue A. Morrison Bobbie & Arthur Newman Mrs. Tassie Nicandros Peggy Overly & John Barlow Kathryn & Richard Rabinow Mr. & Mrs. Ron R. Rand Mrs. Lila Rauch Roman & Sally Reed Mr. & Mrs. Ken N. Robertson

Mr. Glen A. Rosenbaum Dr. Carlos Rossi Ms. Amanda Savo Dr. Alana R. Spiwak & Sam Stolbun Mr. Stephen C. Tarry Mr. & Mrs. Leland Tate Shirley & Joel Wahlberg Stephen & Kristine Wallace Robert G. Weiner Dr. Jim T. Willerson Cyvia & Melvyn Wolff Mr. & Mrs. C. Clifford Wright Mr. & Mrs. Ed Wulfe

Conductor’s Circle, Bronze Baton $5,000-$7,499 Eric S. Anderson & R. Dennis Anderson Mr. & Mrs. Karl H. Becker Mr. Teodoro Bosquez Barry & Janet Burkholder Toba Buxbaum Marilyn Caplovitz David & Nona Carmichael Mrs. Lily Carrigan William J. Clayton & Margaret A. Hughes Mr. & Mrs. Bert Cornelison Roger & Debby Cutler J.R. & Aline Deming Ms. Sara Jo Devine Mr. & Mrs. Paul F. Egner Jr. Mr. Roger Eichhorn 40 www.houstonsymphony.org

Mr. Scott Ensell & Ms. Jeanie Nelson Mr. Shane T. Frank Ms. Beth Freeman & Mr. Dave Stanard Dr. & Mrs. Robert H. Fusillo Mr. George B. Geary Mrs. Aileen Gordon William A. Grieves & Dorothy McDonnell Grieves Ms. Kathleen Hayes Mr. & Mrs. James E. Hooks Debbie & Frank Jones Mr. & Mrs. Larry W. Kellner Mr. & Mrs. Richard D. Kinder Mary Louis Kister Mr. Willy Kuehn

Mr. Alfred Lasher III Ms. Nancey Lobb Marilyn Lummis Mr. & Mrs. David Massin Mr. & Mrs. William L. Maynard Mrs. Beverly T. McDonald Mr. & Mrs. J. Douglas McMurrey Jr. Mr. Gary Mercer Mr. & Mrs. Kevin O. Meyers Stephen & Marilyn Miles Ginni & Richard Mithoff Paul & Rita Morico Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Moynihan Terry Murphree Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Nelson


..................................................................................................................................... Mr. & Mrs. Charles G. Nickson Mr. Dave G. Nussmann Mr. & Mrs. Eugene O’Donnell Jennifer Owen & Ed Benyon Mr. Howard Pieper Mr. Robert J. Pilegge Mr. & Mrs. Allan Quiat Michael & Vicky Richker Mr. & Mrs. Manolo Sanchez Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Schissler Jr. Donna & Tim Shen Mr. & Mrs. Mark R. Smith Mr. Yale Smith Mr. & Mrs. Antonio M. Szabo Mr. Jonathan Tinkle Shirley & David R. Toomim Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin Warren Dr. Robert Wilkins & Dr. Mary Ann Reynolds Wilkins Ms. Jennifer R. Wittman Woodell Family Foundation Winthrop A. Wyman & Beverly Johnson Dr. & Mrs. Robert Yekovich Erla & Harry Zuber

Grand Patron’s Circle $2,500 - $4,999

Mr. & Mrs. Thurmon Andress Mrs. Nina Andrews Mr. & Mrs. John S. Arnoldy Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey B. Aron Mr. Richard C. Bailey Mr. & Mrs. Carlos Barbieri Mr. & Mrs. George Boerger Mr. & Mrs. Anthony W. Bohnert Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Bolam Mr. & Mrs. James D. Bozeman Maurice & Karey Bresenhan Mr. Larry C. Brookshire Hon. Peter & Mrs. Anne S. Brown Mr. & Mrs. Thierry Caruso David Chambers & Alexander Steffler Dr. Robert N. Chanon Mr. & Mrs. Kent Chenevert Mr. William E. Colburn Lois & David Coyle Mr. & Mrs. James W. Crownover Mr. & Mrs. Mark P. Day Mr. Denis A. DeBakey & Ms. Lavonne Cox James R. Denton Mr. & Mrs. Mark Diehl Mr. & Mrs. Carr P. Dishroon Mr. & Mrs. Jack N. Doherty Mr. & Mrs. Michael Doherty Carolyn & David Edgar Mr. William Elbel & Ms. Mary J. Schroeder Mr. Parrish N. Erwin Jr. Mr. & Mrs. J. Thomas Eubank Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan B. Fairbanks Mary Ann & Larry Faulkner Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Ference Mr. & Mrs. Jason Few Mr. & Mrs. Tom Fitzpatrick Mr. Edwin C. Friedrichs & Ms. Darlene Clark Thomas & Patricia Geddy Mrs. Lila-Gene George Mr. Bert & Mrs. Joan Golding Mr. & Mrs. Herbert I. Goodman Robert & Michele Goodmark

Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Haas Dr. & Mrs. Eric J. Haufrect Mr. & Mrs. Eric Heggeseth Mr. & Mrs. Matt Hennessy Mr. & Mrs. George Hricik Mr. Jimmy Hubbell Marianne & Robert Ivany Marzena & Jacek Jaminski Mr. & Mrs. John F. Joity Mrs. Donna P. Josey-Chapman Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Kaldis Mr. & Mrs. Francis S. Kalman William & Cynthia Koch Ms. Roslyn Larkey Mrs. Barry Lewis Mr. Keith McFarland Mr. & Mrs. Lance McKnight Ms. Vickie McMicken Mr. & Mrs. William B. McNamara Mr. & Mrs. Robert Mitchell Mr. & Mrs. Michael Mithoff Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Moore Julia & Chris Morton Mr. & Mrs. Geoffroy Petit Mr. James D. Pitcock Jr. Mr. Timothy Presutti Mr. Michael H. Price Mr. & Mrs. Stephen D. Pryor Mr. & Mrs. Joseph H. Pyne Jeremy & Linsay Radcliffe Shirley & Marvin Rich Allyn & Jill Risley Dr. & Mrs. Richard Robbins Drs. Alex & Lynn Rosas Carole & Barry Samuels Mr. & Mrs. Raymond E. Sawaya Dr. Philip D. Scott & Dr. Susan E. Gardner Mr. & Mrs. William T. Slick Jr. Carol & Michael Stamatedes Dr. & Mrs. C. Richard Stasney Mr. & Mrs. Keith Stevenson Nancy & David Tai Dr. & Mrs. Karl Tornyos Ann Trammell Ms. Emily Van Houtan C. Harold & Lorine Wallace Dr. David A. White Ms. Elizabeth Wolff Mr. & Mrs. David J. Wuthrich Mr. Keith Yanez Edith & Robert Zinn

Young Associates Council Young Associate, Premium $2,500 or more David Chambers & Alexander Steffler Audrey & Brandon Cochran Jimmy Hubbell Young Associate $1,500 - $2,499 Lindley & Jason Arnoldy Ting & John Bresnahan Divya & Chris Brown Sarah & Ben Cotting Katie Flaherty Mark Folkes & Christopher Johnston Samantha M. Gonzalez Amanda & John Seaberg Rachael & Jason Volz – A Fare Extraordinaire

Patron $1,000 - $2,499

Dr. & Mrs. George J. Abdo Mrs. Harold J. Adam Joan & Stanford Alexander Mrs. Nancy C. Allen Mr. John Alvarado Frances & Ira Anderson John & Pat Anderson Mr. & Mrs. Anthony P. Apollo Lindley & Jason Arnoldy Mr. & Mrs. John M. Arnsparger Paul H. & Maida M. Asofsky Mr. Jeff Autor Mr. & Mrs. John C. Averett Ms. Mary S. Axelrad Dr. & Mrs. Jamil Azzam Mrs. Nancy Bailey Dr. & Mrs. Christie Ballantyne Mr. & Mrs. Stephen J. Banks Mr. David Barnham Mr. & Mrs. John A. Barrett Mr. & Mrs. Paul M. Basinski Richard & Trish Battaglia Ms. Deborah S. Bautch Dr. & Mrs. Arthur L. Beaudet Mr. James Bell Betty Bellamy Drs. Henry & Louise Bethea Dr. Joan Hacken Bitar Mrs. Thomas W. Blake Mr. & Mrs. Michael Blitzer Mrs. Danya M. Bogart Mrs. Joanie Bowman Mr. Sonny Brandtner Mr. & Mrs. Robert Bray Joe Brazzatti Mr. & Mrs. John B. Brent Ting & John Bresnahan Katherine M. Briggs Mr. Thomas Nyle Britton Divya & Chris Brown Mr. & Mrs. Terry Bryant Dr. & Mrs. Fred Buckwold Lilia Khakinova & C. Robert Bunch Mrs. Anne H. Bushman Dr. & Mrs. William T. Butler Mr. & Mrs. Raul Caffesse Ms. Cathy M. Cagle Ms. Marjorie Carter Cain Margot & John Cater Mr. & Mrs. Paul D. Chapman Mr. & Mrs. Allen Clamen Mr. & Mrs. Gerald F. Clark Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Clarke Dr. Paul Cloutier Mr. & Mrs. James G. Coatsworth Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Colburn Mr. & Mrs. Todd Colter Dr. Carmen Bonmati & Mr. Ben Conner Mr. Mark C. Conrad Ms. Barbara A. Conte Mr. & Mrs. Byron Cooley Mr. & Mrs. Sam Cooper Mr. & Mrs. Ben Cotting Dr. & Mrs. James D. Cox Sylvia & Andre Crispin Mr. & Mrs. Timothy J. Crull Mr. & Mrs. Harry H. Cullen Jr. Mr. Carl Cunningham Mr. & Mrs. Jeremy Davis Mr. & Mrs. Paul Davis Ms. Elizabeth Del Pico John & Tracy Dennis Ms. Aurelie Desmarais Bruce B. Dice Mike & Debra Dishberger Mr. & Mrs. James P. Dorn Ms. Consuelo Duroc-Danner Drs. Gary & Roz Dworkin Mr. & Mrs. David Dybell Mr. & Mrs. Edward N. Earle Mr. & Mrs. Peter Erickson Mr. & Mrs. Sheldon R. Erikson Mr. Mike Ezzell Dr. Louis & Mrs. Paula Faillace

September 2012 41


Houston Symphony Donors........................................................................................ Mr. & Mrs. Donald Faust Sr. Mrs. Carolyn Grant Fay Dr. Judith Feigin & Mr. Colin Faulkner Ms. Ursula H. Felmet Jerry E. & Nanette B. Finger Dr. & Mrs. Ronald Fischer John C. Fitch Mr. Dale Fitz Mr. & Mrs. Harvey Fleisher Mr. Eugene A. Fong Mr. & Mrs. William H. Fowler II Mr. & Mrs. James E. Furr Mr. & Mrs. John Gee Mr. & Mrs. Harry Gendel Mr. Jerry George Mrs. Joan M. Giese Dr. & Mrs. Jack Gill Walter Gilmore Mrs. James J. Glenn Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Morris Glesby Gary & Marion Glober Mr. & Mrs. David Glodt Mr. Robert Gomez Ms. Melissa Goodman Dr. & Mrs. Bradford S. Goodwin Jr. Mr. Carlos Gorrichategui Mr. Kendall Gray Ms. Joyce Z. Greenberg Mr. Charles H. Gregory Mary & Paul Gregory Mr. & Mrs. Doug Groves Mr. Michael Haigh Mr. Eric Halen Mrs. Thalia Halen Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Hall Dr. & Mrs. Carlos R. Hamilton Mr. & Mrs. Bob Hammann Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Hanna Mr. & Mrs. Paul Hanson Marion S. Hargrove Mr. & Judge Frank Harmon III Mr. & Mrs. Warren W. Harris David & Claudia Hatcher Mr. & Mrs. David L. Haug Mr. & Mrs. Houston Haymon Mr. & Mrs. David J. Hemenway Mark & Ragna Henrichs Marilyn & Robert M. Hermance Bob & Yoli Herrmann Ann & Joe Hightower Mr. Robert Hoff Mr. Tim Hogan Mrs. Evelyn Howell Mr. & Mrs. Norman C. Hoyer Mr. Mark Hughes Mrs. Julia Humphreys Mr. & Mrs. R. O. Hunton Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Isham Mr. & Mrs. Edward F. Jackson Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Jankovic Ms. Ann Jennings Mr. & Mrs. Okey B. Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Steve Jones Drs. Blair & Rita Justice Mr. & Mrs. Harvey Katz Linda & Frank S. Kelley Mr. & Mrs. David Kennedy Nora J. Klein, M.D. Lucy & Victor Kormeier Ms. Ilene Kramer Ms. Joni Latimer Mr. & Mrs. Gordon Leighton Dr. & Mrs. Morton Leonard Jr. Ms. Golda K. Leonard H. Fred & Velva G. Levine Mr. & Mrs. Philip Lewis Mr. William W. Lindley Mr. & Mrs. H. Arthur Littell Dr. & Mrs. James R. Lloyd Mr. & Mrs. John Lollar Robert & Gayle Longmire Mr. & Mrs. Paul F. Longstreth Mr. & Mrs. William G. Looser Mr. & Mrs. Bob Lunn Tom & Kathleen Mach Mr. & Mrs. Barry H. Margolis Mr. & Mrs. J. A. Mawhinney Jr.

42 www.houstonsymphony.org

Linda & Jim McCartney Dr. A. McDermott & Dr. A. Glasser Mr. & Mrs. Andrew McFarland Mr. & Mrs. Terry McGill Mr. & Mrs. Michael McGuire Mr. Edward McIntosh Ms. Karen McRae Mr. & Mrs. D. Bradley McWilliams Mr. & Mrs. John Merrill Mr. & Mrs. David A. Mire Mr. Jamal Mollai Mr. & Mrs. John C. Molloy Dr. Eleanor D. Montague Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Moynier Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Mueller Mr. & Mrs. Richard Murphy Mr. & Mrs. Geoffrey B. Newton John & Leslie Niemand Mr. & Mrs. Anthony G. Ogden Mr. & Mrs. Staman Ogilvie Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Olfers Steve & Sue Olson Mr. & Mrs. Sheldon I. Oster Jane & Kenneth Owen Mr. & Mrs. Robert Page Christine & Robert Pastorek Mr. & Mrs. Raul Pavon Michael & Shirley Pearson Pamela & James Penny Dr. & Mrs. Bruce Perry JoAnn & John Petzold Ms. Debra Phillips Mr. & Mrs. W. Hugh Phillips III Ms. Meg Philpot Mr. Thomas Power Mrs. Dana Puddy Darla & Chip Purchase Mr. & Mrs. David Pursell Mr. Tom Purves Mr. Dale Qualls & Mrs. Melissa McWilliams Dr. & Mrs. Henry H. Rachford Jr. Mrs. Rose Radoff Mr. & Mrs. Thomas P. Randt Clinton & Leigh Rappole Mr. & Mrs. Thomas R. Reckling III Anne D. Reed Mr. & Mrs. Michael A. Reeves Mr. & Mrs. Allan Reich Mr. Charles M. Reimer Mr. & Mrs. Dave Roberts Ms. Janice Robertson & Mr. Douglas Williams Mr. & Mrs. James T. Robinson Ms. Regina J. Rogers Mr. & Mrs. Edward Ross Mr. Morris Rubin Mr. Kent Rutter Mr. Robert T. Sakowitz Chris & Don Sanders Harold H. Sandstead, M.D. Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Schanzmeyer Beth & Lee Schlanger Mrs. Toni Oplt & Mr. Ed Schneider Drs. Helene & Robert Schwartz Mr. Rufus Scott Mr. & Mrs. John Seaberg Mr. & Mrs. Ash Sharma Mr. & Mrs. Steve Sims Barbara & Louis Sklar Mr. Brinton A. Smith & Ms. Evelyn Chen Mr. & Mrs. William A. Smith Dean & Kay L. Snider Ms. Aimee Snoots John L. Snyder Mr. & Mrs. John Speer Mary Louise Spencer Ms. Georgiana Stanley Mr. & Mrs. James R. Stevens Cassie B. Stinson & Dr. R. Barry Holtz Mr. & Mrs. Stopnicki Susman Family Foundation/ Ellen & Steve Susman Ms. Jeanine Swift Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas L. Swyka Mr. & Mrs. Albert S. Tabor Jr.

Mr. Jim Teague & Ms. Jane DiPaolo Jean & Doug Thomas Jacob & Elizabeth Thomas Mr. & Mrs. Ralph B. Thomas Mr. Roger Trandell Mr. Gerard Trione Ms. Karin Peterson Tripp Mr. & Mrs. Trevor Turbidy Mr. & Mrs. Timothy J. Unger Mr. Donn K. Van Arsdall Dr. & Mrs. Charles T. Van Buren Mr. & Mrs. Gene Van Dyke Ms. Barbara Van Postman Mr. & Mrs. William A. Van Wie Ms. Jana Vander Lee Rachael & Jason Volz A Fare Extraordinaire Betty & Bill Walker Mr. Danny Ward & Ms. Nancy Ames Mr. & Mrs. James A. Watt Mr. & Mrs. Kane C. Weiner Ms. Joann E. Welton Mr. & Mrs. Eden N. Wenig Ms. Paula O. Whyte Ms. Melanie S. Wiggins Carlton & Marty Wilde Mr. & Mrs. James R. Wilhite Nancy Willerson Dr. & Mrs. Jerry S. Wolinsky Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Wray Mr. & Mrs. William A. Young Mr. & Mrs. Charles Zabriskie Anonymous (10)

Director $500 - $999

Ms. Joan Ambrogi Mr. & Mrs. Steve Ameen Dr. & Mrs. Roy Aruffo Corbin & Char Aslakson Ms. Erin S. Asprec Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Axelrod Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Baird Mr. & Mrs. Gabriel Baizan Julie Ann & Matthew Baker Mr. & Mrs. David M. Balderston Mr. & Mrs. Richard Ball Ms. Anne Barrett Mr. Allen J. Becker Mr. Ricky R. Behrend Mr. & Mrs. Lloyd M. Bentsen III Mr. & Mrs. Philippe Berteaud Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Bickel Mrs. Ann M. Bixby Dr. William Black Jr., M.D. Mrs. Noemi Blum-Howard Mr. Edward P. Bornet Ms. Suzie Boyd Bob F. Boydston Mr. James Bragg Ms. Sally Brassow Mr. Chester Brooke & Mrs. Nancy Poindexter Mr. J. W. Brougher Mr. & Mrs. Jos C. Brown Fred & Judy Brunk Ms. Courtney Brynes Elizabeth Burdine Mrs. Shirley Burgher Ms. Helen P. Burwell Mr. Carl Butler Ms. Cheryl Byington Mr. & Mrs. Joseph L. Campbell Mr. Len Cannon Mrs. H. E. Carrico Mr. Petros Carvounis Mr. & Mrs. John M. Cavanaugh Mr. & Mrs. E. Thomas Chaney Mr. & Mrs. David Chang Ms. Anna Charlton Virginia A. Clark Jim R. & Lynn Coe Mr. David Coleman Mr. H. Talbot Cooley Mr. & Mrs. H. L. Coon

Mr. William S. & Dr. Mary Alice Cowan Dr. Edward Cox Mr. & Mrs. T. N. Crook Ms. Caroline Deetjen Mr. & Mrs. Rene Degreve Dr. & Mrs. Clotaire D. Delery Mr. Joseph A. Dellinger Mr. Charles Dishman Mr. Michael Dooley Elizabeth H. Duerr Mr. & Mrs. A. C. Dumestre Egon & Elisa Durban John & Joyce Eagle Ms. Paula Eck Mildred & Richard Ellis Ms. Annette Eriksen Dr. Kenneth L Euler Ms. Tanya Evanoff Diane Lokey Farb Mr. & Mrs. Carl Fletcher Mr. James B. Flodine & Ms. Lynne Liberato Mr. Stephen J. Folzenlogen Mr. & Mrs. Michael S. Francisco Rachel Frazier Mrs. Cathy Friestch Mrs. Martha Garcia Mrs. Holly Garner Martha & Gibson Gayle Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Neil Gaynor Ms. Lucy Gebhart Ms. Elaine C. Gordon Dr. & Mrs. Harvey L. Gordon Mr. & Mrs. Mark Gordon Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Gottschalk Mr. Ned Graber Mr. Garrett Graham Dennis Griffith & Louise Richman Mr. & Mrs. Steve K. Grimsley Gaye Davis & Dennis B. Halpin Rita & John Hannah Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Harbachick Michael D. Hardin W. Russel Harp & Maarit K. Savola-Harp Mr. & Mrs. Robert S. Harrell Dr. & Mrs. William S. Harwell Thomas F. & Catherine Mary Hastings Dr. & Mrs. Robert N. Healy Mr. & Mrs. Frank L. Heard Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Boyd Heath Mr. & Mrs. Fred D. Herring Ms. Hilda R. Herzfeld Mr. & Mrs. W. Grady Hicks Mr. David Hoffman Mr. & Mrs. Paul F. Hoffman Dr. Matthew Horsfield & Dr. Michael Kauth Mr. & Mrs. Ted Hsieh Mr. & Mrs. Dean Huffman Ms. Rebecca Hutcheson Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth A. Jacobson Mr. & Mrs. Paul M. Janicke Mr. Mark Johansson Ms. Sheila K. Johnstone Mr. Bill Jones Mrs. Jillian Jopling Dr. & Mrs. Robert E. Jordon Mr. & Mrs. Yoshi Kawashima Sam & Cele Keeper Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Keeton Mr. & Mrs. Keith Kelley Mr. John Kelsey & Ms. Gaye Davis Mr. & Mrs. Tom Kelsey Louise & Sherwin Kershman Mr. Ron Kesterson Ms. Malgosia Kloc Mr. & Mrs. Sam Koster Mr. Dennis Kroeger Suzanne A. & Dan D. Kubin Mr. Vijay Kusnoor Ms. Diane Laborde Mr. & Mrs. Joel C. Lambert Dr. & Mrs. Shane Lanys Mr. & Mrs. William R. Leighton Dr. & Dr. Richard A. Lewis


..................................................................................................................................... Annie & Kenneth Li Ms. Mary Litwin Mr. Kelly Bruce Lobley Renee & Michael Locklar Mrs. Sylvia Lohkamp Mr. & Mrs. Peter MacGregor Ms. Renee Margolin Mr. & Mrs. Jesse Marion Ms. Diane Markesich & Mr. James Hamblet Ms. Faerie Marston Mr. Howard Martin Mr. & Mrs. Robert Martin Dr. & Mrs. Glen E. Mattingly Mr. & Mrs. Rod McAdams Mr. & Mrs. James McBride Lawrence McCullough & Linda Jean Quintanilla Mr. & Mrs. David R. McKeithan Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence McManus William E. Joor, III & Rose Ann Medlin Ms. Maria Carolina Mendoza Mr. & Mrs. Gerard Meneilly Mr. Ronald A. Mikita Mr. & Mrs. Arnold M. Miller Mr. & Mrs. Herbert G. Mills Mr. & Mrs. Thomas J. Mireles Mr. Willis B. Mitchell John & Ann Montgomery Ms. Deborah Moran Mr. William R. Mowlam Daniel & Karol Musher Mr. & Mrs. Paul R. Nelson Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Neumann Ms. Khanh Nguyen

Ms. Dorothy Nicholson Mr. & Mrs. Rufus W. Oliver III Mr. & Mrs. Morris Orocofsky Mrs. Caroline Osteen Mr. & Mrs. Steven Owsley Mr. & Mrs. Marc C. Paige Ms. Martha Palmer Mr. & Mrs. Peter C. Peropoulos Mr. & Mrs. Gary Petersen Grace & Carroll Phillips Ms. Antoinette Post Mr. Robert W. Powell Kim & Ted A. Powell Paula & Nico Praagman Hudgins Mr. & Mrs. Gary Prentice Mr. William E. Pryor Mr. & Mrs. J. E. Pybus Jr. Elias & Carole Qumsieh Mr. & Mrs. Paul Ramirez Mr. & Mrs. Scott Ramsey Dr. Mike Ratliff Mr. & Mrs. William B. Rawl Mr. & Mrs. Hugh M. Ray Vicki & J.B. Reber Dr. Alexander P. Remenchik & Ms. Frances Burford Ms. Rachaelle Reynolds Mr. & Mrs. Claud D. Riddles Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Rinehart Milton & Jill Rose Mr. Autry W. Ross Mrs. Holly Rubbo Mr. Derek Salvino Mrs. Jennifer K. Salyer Mr. Charles King Sanders

Ms. Cynthia Sanford Dr. & Mrs. David Sapire Ms. Stacey Saunders & Mr. Jeff Smith Ms. Susan E. Scarrow Mr. & Mrs. Donald Schmuck Jean & Robert Schwarz Dr. & Mrs. H. Irving Schweppe Jr. Ms. Donna Scott Charles & Andrea Seay Mr. & Mrs. Vic Shainock Claudette & Tim Shaunty Mr. & Mrs. George Shaw Mr. Hilary Smith Mr. & Mrs. Tom Smith Mr. & Mrs. Wesley Smith Mr. & Mrs. William Smith Ms. Joyce Steensrud Mr. Ronald B. Stein Mr. & Mrs. Donald K. Steinman Mr. & Ms. Gary Stenerson Dr. John R. Stroehlein & Ms. Miwa Sakashita Mr. Alan Stuckert Dr. & Mrs. David Sufian Mr. & Mrs. John F. Sullivan Ms. Bobbie Sumerlin Emily C. Sundt Dr. & Mrs. Frank C. Sung Mrs. Louise Sutton Mr. Clifford A. Swanlund Jr. Dr. Jeffrey Sweterlitsch Ms. Carolyn Tanner Mr. & Mrs. Glenn Taylor Mr. Kerry Taylor Mr. & Mrs. Van Teeters

Mr. John F. Terwilliger & Ms. Laura Codman Ms. Betsy Mims & Mr. Howard D. Thames Mr. & Mrs. M. Dale Tingleaf Mr. G. M. Tolunay David & Ann Tomatz Mr. & Mrs. Louis E. Toole Ms. Cathleen J. Trechter Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Tremant Mrs. Eliot P. Tucker Mr. & Mrs. D.E. Utecht Mr. & Mrs. Jon P. Valfre Dr. & Mrs. Gage VanHorn Dean B. Walker Mr. & Mrs. David Ward Mr. Kenneth W. Warren Ms. Bryony Jane Welsh Mrs. Johannah Wilkenfeld Dr. Wayne Wilner Ms. Susan N. Wilson Mr. & Mrs. Thomas H. Wilson Mr. & Mrs. Emil Wulfe Mr. Scott Wynant

Anonymous (21)

As of August 1, 2012 To note any errors or omissions, please call Darryl de Mello at (713) 337-8529

Houston Symphony Pops Donors............................................................................................................. Ima Hogg Society $150,000 or More

Mr. George P. Mitchell

Concertmaster’s Society $25,000-$49,999

Mr. & Mrs. Edward F. Blackburne Jr. Mrs. Sybil F. Roos

Conductor’s Circle, Platinum $15,000-$24,999

Susan & Dick Hansen Mr. Walter & Mrs. Maryjane Scherr David & Paula Steakley

Conductor’s Circle, Gold $10,000-$14,999 Ms. Judith Vincent

Conductor’s Circle, Silver $7,500-$9,999

Mrs. Gloria Pepper & Dr. Bernard Katz Roman & Sally Reed Mr. & Mrs. Ken N. Robertson Mr. & Mrs. Leland Tate

Conductor’s Circle, Bronze $5,000-$7,499

Marilyn Caplovitz Mr. & Mrs. Bert Cornelison Ms. Sara Jo Devine Allen & Almira GelwickLockton Companies Mr. & Mrs. Fred L. Gorman Dr. & Mrs. Paul M. Mann Paul & Rita Morico Terry Murphree Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Nelson Mr. & Mrs. Charles G. Nickson Mr. Robert J. Pilegge Mr. & Mrs. Allan Quiat

Grand Patron $2,500-$4,999

Rita & Geoffrey Bayliss Dr. Christopher Buehler & Ms. Jill Hutchison Mr. & Mrs. Byron F. Dyer Mr. & Ms. Eric J. Gongre Mr. & Mrs. Jerry L. Hamaker Rex & Marillyn King Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Mason Alice R. McPherson, M.D. Mr. & Mrs. Ben A. Reid Shirley & Marvin Rich Mr. & Mrs. George A. Rizzo Jr. Linda & Jerry Rubenstein Mr. & Mrs. William Thweatt Mr. & Mrs. William B. Welte III Sally & Denney Wright Anonymous (1)

Patron $1,000-$2,499

Mr. & Mrs. J. Emery Anderson Stanley & Martha Bair Mr. John S. Beury Ellen Box Ms. Barbara A. Brooks Mr. David Carrier Mr. William V. Conover The Honorable & Mrs. William C. Crassas Mr. & Mrs. Robert Creager Ms. Ann Currens Mr. & Mrs. James E. Dorsett Dr. Burdett S. & Mrs. Kathleen C.E. Dunbar Mark Folkes & Christopher Johnston Carol & Larry Fradkin Paula & Alfred Friedlander Mr. & Mrs. James K. Garner Mrs. Lillian Gaylor Mr. Evan B. Glick

Julius & Suzan Glickman Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Hansen Mr. & Mrs. George A. Helland Mr. & Mrs. Alex Howard Michael & Darcy Krajewski Mr. & Mrs. Wilfred M. Krenek Mr. & Mrs. Robin Lease Mr. & Mrs. John Matzer Mr. & Mrs. Alan May Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Terry McGill Barnett & Diane McLaughlin Mr. & Mrs. Joe T. McMillan Mr. Marvin McMurrey Dr. & Mrs. Raghu Narayan Mr. & Mrs. Anthony G. Ogden Mrs. Kay M. Onstead Margaret & V. Scott Pignolet W. R. Purifoy Mr. & Mrs. John T. Riordan Mrs. Annetta Rose Mr. Morris Rubin Dr. & Mr. Adrian D. Shelley Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Thompson Ms. Virginia Torres Mr. Roger Trandell Ms. Jody Verwers Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence D. Wallace

Director $500-$999

Mr. & Mrs. Kingsley Agbor Rev. & Mrs. H. Eldon Akerman Ms. Suan Angelo Dr. & Mrs. William S. Banks III Ann B. Beaudette Mr. Billy Bray Dr. & Mrs. R. L. Brenner Mr. & Ms. Bruce Buhler Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Cantrell Jr. Dr. Cecil Christensen Richard & Marcia Churns Mrs. Barbora Cole

Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Colton Mr. & Mrs. Michael F. Cook Mr. & Mrs. George Dobbin Barbara Dokell Mr. & Mrs. Randy Dunn Mr. Richard Fanning Mr. John Geigel Mr. & Mrs. L. Henry Gissell Jr. Mr. Robert Grant Mr. Garland Gray Mr. & Mrs. Dale Hardy Mr. & Mrs. Don Harrison Richard & Beverly Hickman Mr. & Mrs. John Homier Mr. Don E. Kingsley Ms. Amy Lacy Mr. & Mrs. Roger Lindgren Mr. & Mrs. James D. Long Ms. Doris M. Magee Mr. & Mrs. J.A. Mawhinney Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Kevin McEvoy Mr. James Miner Jim & Arlene Payne Dr. & Mrs. Albert E. Raizner Mr. & Mrs. Venu Rao Mrs. Pamela Royal Mr. David Schultz & Ms. Beth Stegle James C. Stanka Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan Symko Mr. James Trippett Mr. & Mrs. Eugene N. Tulich Dr. & Mrs. James A. Twining Mr. Gary Van Rooyan Mr. & Mrs. Thomas L. Venus Mr. & Mrs. Jaime Viancos Mr. & Mrs. Michael Villarreal Dr. & Mrs. William C. Watkins Anonymous (1) As of August 1, 2012 To note any errors or omissions, please call Darryl de Mello at (713) 337-8529

September 2012 43


Houston Symphony Patrons............................................................................. Houston Symphony Business Council................................................................. Co-Chairs Ralph Burch, ConocoPhillips David Wuthrich, J.P. Morgan Prentiss Burt, J.P. Morgan Janet F. Clark, Marathon Oil Corporation Gene Dewhurst, Falcon Seaboard Mike Doherty, Frost Bank Allen Gelwick, Lockton Companies Steven P. Mach, Mach Industrial Group, LP Billy McCartney, Vitol Inc. Paul Morico, Baker Botts, LLP Bob Peiser, Imperial Sugar Company (retired)

Geoffroy Petit, TOTAL David Pruner, Wood Mackenzie Ltd. John Rydman, Spec’s Wines, Spirits and Finer Foods Manuel Sanchez, BBVA Compass Jerome Simon, Northern Trust Bank Bobby Tudor, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Company Jesse Tutor, Accenture (retired) Margaret Waisman, Affiliated Dermatologists of Houston Fredric Weber, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

Corporations...................................................................................................... As of August 1, 2012

$100,000 and above

BBVA Compass Fidelity Investments * The Methodist Hospital Spec’s Charitable Foundation * United Airlines

$50,000-$99,999

American Express Philanthropic Program * Baker Botts LLP Cameron International Corporation Chevron ConocoPhillips ExxonMobil Frost Bank GDF SUEZ Energy North America Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo * Jackson and Company JPMorgan Chase Marathon Oil Corporation Rose Hill Meadows Corporation Shell Oil Company TOTAL

$25,000-$49,999 Andrews Kurth, LLP The Boeing Company

Bright Star Chubb Group of Insurance Companies Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. * Houston Chronicle KPMG LLP Memorial Hermann The Rand Group, LLC San Jacinto College

$10,000-$24,999

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Avalon Advisors, LLC Bank of America Bank of Texas Bisso Marine Co., Inc. Bracewell & Giuliani LLP CenterPoint Energy Cooper Industries, Inc. Crown Castle International Corp. Ernst & Young Halliburton Locke Lord LLP Macy’s Foundation Merrill Lynch Private Bank & Investment Group MetroBank, N.A. Northern Trust Regions Bank Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc. SPIR STAR, Ltd. Star Furniture USI Insurance Services LLC Vinson & Elkins LLP Wells Fargo

$5,000-$9,999

Beck, Redden & Secrest, LLP Bloomberg, L.L.P. Devon Energy Corporation Google, Inc. Michem International, Inc. New Era Life Insurance Oceaneering International Inc. Randalls Food Markets, Inc. Stewart Title Company Swift Energy Company

Gifts below $4,999

Air Liquide American Corporation Allen Edmonds Shoe Corp. The Blue Jeans Bar Corp EOG Resources, Inc. GEM Insurance Agencies Geste LLC Gulf Marine Product Co., Ltd Intercontinental Exchange JaPage Partnership Martha Turner Properties Marvin Consulting SEI Global Institutional Group Sense Corp. Smith, Graham & Company Williams Companies, Inc.

* Contributions includes in-kind support

Corporate Matching Gifts........................................................................................ As of August 1, 2012

Aetna Apache Corporation Bank of America BBVA Compass Boeing BP Foundation Caterpillar 44 www.houstonsymphony.org

Chevron Chubb Group Coca-Cola ConocoPhillips Eli Lilly and Company ExxonMobil General Electric General Mills

Goldman, Sachs & Company Halliburton Hewlett-Packard Houston Endowment IBM ING Financial Services Corporation KBR Merrill Lynch

NAACO Industries, Inc. Neiman Marcus Northern Trust Occidental Petroleum Shell Oil Company Spectra Energy Williams Companies, Inc.


Houston Symphony Patrons............................................................................. Foundations and Government Agencies............................................................. $50,000-$99,999

Asof July 1, 2012

$1,000,000 & above

Houston Endowment Houston Symphony Endowment Trust Houston Symphony League The Wortham Foundation, Inc. $500,000-$999,999 City of Houston and Theatre District Improvement, Inc. $100,000-$499,999

Albert & Margaret Alkek Foundation M.D. Anderson Foundation The Brown Foundation, Inc. The Cullen Foundation The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation

The Alkek and Williams Foundation John P. McGovern Foundation Ray C. Fish Foundation

$25,000-$49,999

Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation Hartford Community Foundation The Humphreys Foundation National Endowment for the Arts Sterling-Turner Foundation

$10,000-$24,999

Bauer Family Foundation Carleen & Alde Fridge Foundation The Melbern G. & Susanne M. Glasscock Foundation George & Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation Houston Symphony League Bay Area Jack S. & Donna P. Josey Foundation Alvin & Lucy Owsley Foundation The Powell Foundation Radoff Family Foundation

Vivian L. Smith Foundation The Schissler Foundation Vaughn Foundation

$2,500-$9,999

William E. & Natoma Pyle Harvey Charitable Trust The Hood-Barrow Foundation Leon Jaworski Foundation William S. & Lora Jean Kilroy Foundation Robert W. & Pearl Wallis Knox Foundation Lubrizol Foundation Mithoff Family Foundation Kinder Morgan Foundation Lynne Murray, Sr. Educational Foundation Nightingale Code Foundation Keith & Mattie Stevenson Foundation Strake Foundation Texas Commission on the Arts

$1,000-$2,499

The Mary & Thomas Graselli Endowment Foundation Huffington Foundation The Oshman Foundation State Employee Charitable Campaign

Notes continued from page 32................................................................................ tion that incorporates the middle theme of the second movement. The principal theme suddenly erupts in snarling melodic leaps, propelling almost the entire movement forward in a state of high agitation. As a golden sunset to this orchestral storm, the music finally calms itself in a shimmering, quasi-Wagnerian coda that yields up the symphony’s opening motto in a peaceful F major tonality. PROGRAM E SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN D MAJOR, OPUS 73 Composed: 1877 Recording: Christoph Eschenbach conducting the Houston Symphony (Virgin Classics) Instrumentation: pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani and strings In 1876, Johannes Brahms won his 21-year struggle to complete his First Symphony. That accomplishment not only earned him an honored place alongside Beethoven in the world of symphonic composition, but freed his creative spirit. Suddenly, he entered into the most productive period of his career, producing three more symphonies, three concertos, two major overtures and numerous keyboard, vocal, choral and chamber music masterworks over the next decade. The Second Symphony was the first major orchestral work to appear and it was completed the very next year. While this D major symphony

is obviously the work of the very same Brahms, its relaxed, genial character is sometimes as different from the frowning C minor Symphony as day is from night. It was composed in the sunny rural environment of Pörtschach, a remote lakeside village in the Carinthian Alps of Southern Austria. Biographer Karl Geiringer has recorded a characteristic quote on the symphony by Brahms’ close friend, the surgeon and amateur pianist Theodor Billroth: “It is all rippling streams, blue sky, sunshine, and cool green shadows. How beautiful it must be at Pörtschach!” Billroth’s comment is especially applicable to the easy, rocking themes that dominate the exposition of the first movement and to the gentle Austrian minuet that makes up the third movement. Though the first movement builds up a typical Brahmsian storm in its central development section and its lengthy coda, the themes set forth at the beginning of the movement are mostly lyrical and untroubled. But even here, Brahms’ stylistic fingerprints are readily apparent in a motivic imitation that shadows the opening horn theme and in the long, spun-out character of a subsidiary violin theme that soon follows. In his contrapuntal wizardry, Brahms combines the two themes when they return at the beginning of the recapitulation. If sunlight is obscured by clouds anywhere in the symphony, it is in the beautiful but plaintive slow movement, which opens with one of Brahms’ heartfelt cello themes. Gorgeous touches of his unique orchestration abound in this movement, along with elusive

harmonic colors. The third movement is the gentlest of minuets, interspersed with two trios. Each of its sections becomes a variant of what came before and contrast is achieved by sudden changes in the pulse. The extroverted finale makes an oblique reference to the symphony’s two opening themes, then builds climax upon climax in a gigantic movement that concludes in a brassy display, invariably bringing cheering audiences to their feet. From the very beginning, concertgoers have given the symphony an enthusiastic reception. Conductor Hans Richter had to encore the bucolic third movement at the symphony’s premiere in Vienna on December 30, 1877. A particularly memorable performance occurred the following September, when the composer was invited to conduct the work for the Hamburg Philharmonic Society’s 50th anniversary. At first, Brahms turned down this invitation to conduct the first performance of the symphony in his native city, out of a lingering bitterness at having been passed over for the directorship of the orchestra 16 years earlier. But at the last minute, he relented and traveled to Hamburg, where he was welcomed with open arms in a joyous reconciliation. Several of his musical acquaintances and old friends, including the violinist Joseph Joachim, performed in the orchestra under his baton. The printed music for Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 was donated by Ms. Patricia Casey.

©2012, Carl R. Cunningham September 2012 45


Music Matters!................................................................................................. The Houston Symphony would like to acknowledge those individuals, corporations and foundations that support our education and community engagement activities. Each year these activities impact the lives of more than 76,000 children and students and provide access to our world-class orchestra for more than 100,000 Houstonians free-of-charge. On March 23, 2012, guests of the 2012 Houston Symphony Ball—Rock Me, Amadeus! were treated to performances by 24 string students from the Bay Area Youth Symphony and Clear Creek ISD’s Space Center Intermediate along with 52 vocalists from Spring Branch ISD’s Memorial High School Meistersinger Choir. Mark Wood, former lead violinist of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, led the students in this inspiring performance that showcased the power of music education. The evening was a great success with more than $1 million raised in support for the Symphony’s education and community engagement program: Music Matters! Following this performance, Mark Wood returned to Houston in May to work with students at Cesar E. Chavez High School. Wood spent three hours working with the 20 students in an intimate setting. His appearances with the Houston Symphony were underwritten in part with a generous grant from J.P. Morgan. Stanford Lewis, director of bands at Chavez High School declared, “This is a wonderful experience for our students. Mark is a true inspiration and a consummate musician. Our students will benefit greatly from interacting with him. He has a unique ability to make music a living force. His career experiences captivated the students’ attention and created an environment in which the students were able to focus on his teachings and have fun at the same time.”

Pictured left to right: David Wuthrich (J. P. Morgan), Mark Wood (Electrify Your Strings), Carolyn Watson (J. P. Morgan Chase), Dan De Leon (Chavez High School Principal) and Stanford Lewis (Chavez High School).

Guarantor - $100,000+ Lieutenant Governor David H. Dewhurst Mrs. Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Houston Symphony Endowment Trust John & Lindy Rydman / Spec’s Wines, Spirits and Finer Foods

Partner - $15,000+

Underwriter - $50,000+ Cameron International Corporation ExxonMobil Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Educational Fund GDF SUEZ Energy North America JPMorgan Chase Marathon Oil Corporation John P. McGovern Foundation Shell Oil Company

Patron - $10,000+

Sponsor - $25,000+

The Boeing Company Sterling-Turner Foundation

Bank of America Bauer Family Foundation CenterPoint Energy The Melbern G. & Susanne M. Glasscock Foundation Macy’s Foundation Wells Fargo Enbridge Energy Company George & Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation The Powell Foundation The Schissler Foundation Vivian L. Smith Foundation Vaughn Foundation

Benefactor - $5,000+

Devon Energy Corporation Lynne Murray, Sr. Educational Foundation Randalls Food Markets, Inc. Strake Foundation Swift Energy Company

Donor - $1,000+

Kinder Morgan Foundation Robert W. & Pearl Wallis Knox Foundation Lillian Kaiser Lewis Foundation

Music Matters! is also supported by the following endowed funds which are part of the Houston Symphony Endowment Trust: Margarett and Alice Brown Endowment Fund for Education Lawrence E. Carlton M.D. Endowment Fund for Youth Programs The Hearst Foundation Spec’s Charitable Foundation 46 www.houstonsymphony.org


Legacy Society. ................................................................................................. The Legacy Society honors those who have included the Houston Symphony in their long-term estate plans through bequests, life-income gifts or other deferred-giving arrangements. Members of the Legacy Society enjoy a variety of benefits, including an annual musical event, featuring a renowned guest artist. The Houston Symphony would like to extend its deepest thanks to the members of the Legacy Society – and with their permission, we are pleased to acknowledge them below. If you would like to learn more about ways to provide for the Houston Symphony in your estate plans, please contact our Development Department at: (713) 337-8500 or plannedgiving@houstonsymphony.org. Mrs. Jan Barrow George & Betty Bashen Dorothy B. Black Ermy Borlenghi Bonfield Ronald C. Borschow Joe Brazzatti Zu Broadwater Terry Ann Brown Dr. Joan K. Bruchas & H. Philip Cowdin Eugene R. Bruns Sylvia J. Carroll William J. Clayton & Margaret A. Hughes Leslie Barry Davidson Harrison R. T. Davis Judge & Mrs. Harold DeMoss Jr. Jean & sJack Ellis The Aubrey and Sylvia Farb Family Ginny Garrett Michael B. George Stephen & Mariglyn Glenn Mr. & Mrs. Keith E. Gott Randolph Lee Groninger Mrs. Gloria Herman

Marilyn & Robert M. Hermance Dr. Gary L. Hollingsworth Dr. Edward J. & Mrs. Patti Hurwitz Kenneth Hyde Mr. Brian James Drs. Rita & Blair Justice Dr. & Mrs. Ira Kaufman, M.D. John S. W. Kellett Ann Kennedy & Geoffrey Walker Dr. & Mrs. I. Ray Kirk Mr. & Mrs. Ulyesse LeGrange Mrs. Frances E. Leland Dr. Mary R. Lewis E. W. Long Jr. Sandra Magers Rodney H. Margolis Mr. & Mrs. Jay Marks James Matthews Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm Mazow Mr. & Mrs. Gene McDavid Charles E. McKerley Mr. & Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan Miss Catherine Jane Merchant

Dr. & Mrs. Robert M. Mihalo Ron Mikita Katherine Taylor Mize Ione Moran Sidney Moran Sue A. Morrison and Children Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Moynihan Gretchen Anne Myers Bobbie & Arthur Newman Dave B. Nussmann Edward C. Osterberg Jr. Joan D. Osterweil Imogen “Immy” Papadopoulos Sara M. Peterson Mr. Howard Pieper Geraldine S. Priest Daniel F. Prosser Gloria & Joe Pryzant Mrs. Dana Puddy Walter M. Ross Mr. & Mrs. Michael B. Sandeen Charles K. Sanders Charles King Sanders

Mr. & Mrs. Charles T. Seay II Mr. & Mrs. James A. Shaffer Dr. & Mrs. Kazuo Shimada Jule & Albert Smith Mr. & Mrs. Louis J. Snyder Mike & sAnita Stude Emily H. & David K. Terry Stephen G. Tipps Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Dr. Carlos Vallbona & Children Margaret Waisman, M.D. & Steven S. Callahan, Ph.D. David M. Wax & Elaine Arden Cali Robert G. Weiner Geoffrey Westergaard Jennifer R. Wittman Mr. & Mrs. Bruce E. Woods Mr. & Mrs. David Wuthrich Anonymous (9) As of August 1, 2012 sDeceased

In Memoriam..................................................................................................... We honor the memory of those who in life included the Houston Symphony in their estate plans. Their thoughtfulness and generosity will continue to inspire and enrich lives for generations to come! Mr. Thomas D. Barrow W. P. Beard Mrs. H. Raymond Brannon Anthony Brigandi Lawrence E. Carlton, M.D. Mrs. Albert V. Caselli Lee Allen Clark Jack Ellis Mrs. Robin A. Elverson Frank R. Eyler

Helen Bess Fariss Foster Christine E. George Mrs. Marcella Levine Harris General & Mrs. Maurice Hirsch Miss Ima Hogg Burke & Octavia Holman Mrs. L. F. McCollum Joan B. McKerley Monroe L. Mendelsohn Jr. Mrs. Janet Moynihan

Constantine S. Nicandros Hanni Orton Stewart Orton, Legacy Society co-founder Dr. Michael Papadopoulos Miss Louise Pearl Perkins Walter W. Sapp, Legacy Society co-founder J. Fred & Alma Laws Lunsford Schultz Ms. Jean R. Sides

Ken Mathews Bryan & Vickie McMicken Dave B. Nussmann Nina & Peter Peropoulos

Jennifer Klein Salyer Susan Scarrow Beth Anne Weidler & Stephen M. James

John K. & Fanny W. Stone Dorothy Barton Thomas Mrs. Harry C. Wiess Mrs. Edward Wilkerson

Chorus Endowment Donors........................................................................................... $500 or more

As of August 1, 2012

Erin Asprec Paul & Vickie Davis Steve Dukes Robert Lee Gomez

Pam & Jim Wilhite Anonymous

In Kind Donors......................................................................................................... As of August 1, 2012 A Fare Extraordinaire Alexander’s Fine Portrait Design Aztec Baker Botts L.L.P. Bergner & Johnson BKD, LLP Boat Ranch Bright Star Christofle Classical 91.7 FM Cognetic

Culinaire Darryl & Co. DLG Research & Marketing Solutions DocuData Solutions Elaine Turner Designs Festari Foster Quan LLP Gucci H.E.B. Hilton Americas – Houston Hotel Granduca

Hotel Icon Houston Astros Houston Chronicle Houston Grand Opera Houston Texans Intercontinental Hotel Houston Jackson and Company JOHANNUS Organs of Texas John L. Wortham & Son, L.P. John Wright/Textprint The Lancaster Hotel Limb Design

Martha Turner Properties Meera Buck & Associates Minuteman Press – Post Oak Momentum Jaguar Mr. Carl R. Cunningham Music & Arts Neiman Marcus New Leaf Publishing, Inc. Nos Caves Vin PaperCity Pro/Sound Rice University

Saint Arnold’s University Shecky’s Media, Inc. Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods Staging Solutions Stewart Title Tony’s Tootsies United Airlines Valobra Jewlery & Antiques VISION Production Group Yahama

September 2012 47


Backstage Pass. ................................................................................................. Jim and Helen Shaffer, musician sponsors

Birthplace: I was born in Bellevue, Ohio.

Joined the Houston Symphony: Jim and I became involved with the symphony over 30 years ago. I joined and actively participated in the activities of the Houston Symphony League. Jim was a loyal partner who enjoyed its fundraising events

© eric arbiter

Eric Halen, violin

Education: I received my Bachelor of Music degree from Central Missouri State University where I studied the violin with my father, Walter Halen. He also directed the orchestra, taught theory and composition and viola there. I received my Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign and completed my course work toward a DMA there while studying violin with Sergiu Luca.

Birthplace: Jim was born in Princeton, WV and Helen was born in Cincinnati, OH. Education: Jim: University of Cincinnati’s School of Business Administration, Bachelor of Science Industrial Management with a focus on engineering. Helen: University of Cincinnati College’s Conservatory of Music, bachelor’s degree in piano and voice performance. She continued her education at Memphis State University and Georgia State University. Earliest musical memory: Helen began taking piano and theory at the Conservatory when she was 6. Because of her parents’ devotion and dedication to the arts, she attended the Cincinnati Symphony’s classical series as well as other cultural activities found within the city.

Joined the Houston Symphony: I joined the Houston Symphony playing the New Year’s Eve concert at Jones Hall, December 31, 1986.

Beginnings: I began playing the violin at age 6. My mother, who later became a violinist in the Kansas City Philharmonic, was my teacher. All in the family: My parents were both professional violinists. My brother is also a professional violinist; he is Concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony. Career decisions: I grew up expecting to become a professional musician. Best thing about being a musician: The best thing about being a musician is the privilege of coming to work every day to prepare concerts of great music for an audience that truly appreciates and values it. Musical inspiration: For the past couple of years, I have been particularly aware of my indebtedness to Sergiu Luca for all that I learned from him. He was teaching at the Shepherd School of Rice University. He passed away suddenly in December of 2010. I have been teaching several of his students there until they finished their degrees.

© jenny antill

Looking forward to this season: I’m really looking forward to the Best of Brahms this month. I’m also excited to get the chance to perform Berg’s Wozzeck this March – a rare opportunity!

Looking forward: This is a terrific season for the Symphony! The variety is fantastic. Our goal is to see that we make it to all 18 concerts. Opening Night is our favorite event and is a special highlight during the year. What does the Houston Symphony mean to you: The Houston Symphony offers us great joy. As it has become an integral part of our family, we want to support and sustain its level of excellence. One can never fully return the pleasure we have received from the beauty of the musical experience that the orchestra continually creates. Outside of Concerts: Jim is very involved with his company. Helen is trying to successfully juggle the presidency of the Association of Major Symphony Orchestra Volunteers and The League of American Orchestras Volunteer Council.

Keeping it fresh: I keep my music making fresh by periodically performing chamber music and solo performances. I think playing chamber music with other musicians keeps you thinking about different ideas and approaches to making music.

First meetings: Eric and Angela Halen are a very special couple. We have been their sponsor for so long that I cannot remember how we first met. We have attended the Vintage Virtuoso dinner event that Specs Charitable Foundation sponsors each year and find the time we spend with them much too short.

Hobbies & Interests: Outside of my work for the symphony, I enjoy teaching at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and with a few private students. I also enjoy running, working on my wine collection, fishing and spending time with my wife, Angelea, my son, Brent, and my daughter, Brittany.

Special memories: A couple of years ago Eric and Angelea invited us to attend the performance of Thoroughly Modern Millie at Sam Houston University. Their daughter, Brittany, was performing. It was a wonderful experience. Brittany continues to perform with Theater Under the Stars. We may be in the presence of a future Broadway star! Becoming a musician sponsor: It has provided us with the opportunity to become increasingly committed to the financial needs of the symphony, and to develop a relationship with an orchestra member. In so doing, we have a deeper personal appreciation for our orchestra and its members.

48 www.houstonsymphony.org


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.