MUSIC

The Houston Symphony, KPRC Local 2, and Miller Outdoor Theatre present KPRC Local 2 Summer Symphony Nights.

KPRC Local 2 joins the Houston Symphony to present KPRC Local 2 Summer Symphony Nights at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park. The Symphony’s tradition of presenting free concerts at Miller dates back more than 65 years. Voted “Best Reason to Stay in Houston during the Summer” in the 2005 Houston Press Best of Houston awards, this year’s series includes four classical concerts featuring world-class artists as well as the annual Fourth of July extravaganza – Star-Spangled Salute.

Scheduled Concerts:

Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5
Thursday, June 18, 2009 8:30 pm
Gregory Vajda, conductor
Tai Murray, violin
Kodály: Dances of Marosszék
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K.219, Turkish
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Opus 60

Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Tai Murray makes her Houston Symphony debut with Mozart’s crown jewel for the violin, the Turkish Concerto.

Houston Symphony opens their 2009 summer concert season at Miller Outdoor Theater on June 18th with the first concert of their KPRC Local 2 Summer Symphony Nights Series. This concert will feature Hungarian conductor Gregory Vajda and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Tai Murray, both making their Houston Symphony debuts in a performance of Mozart’s crown jewel for the violin, the Turkish Concerto, as well as Kodály and Beethoven Fourth Symphony.

Vajda became resident conductor of the Oregon Symphony at the start of the 2005-06 season. Prior to his position in Milwaukee, he served as founder and artistic advisor of the Valley of the Arts Summer Festival in Hungary, permanent guest conductor of the Hungarian State Opera, principal conductor of the Ernö Dohnanyi Symphony Orchestra in Budapest, and a member of the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra. In addition to conducting, Vajda also is a clarinetist and composer. Recently, he conducted his own composition for the silent film The Crowd at the Louvre with American pianist Jay Gottlieb. He also has recorded his piece, Duevoe, with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, a piece he conducted at Texas’ Round Top Festival.

Murray has performed on the stages of Berlin’s Konzerthaus, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens, Shanghai’s Concert Hall and New York’s Carnegie Hall, and has collaborated with a wide range of conductors and instrumentalists. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2004, she is currently a BBC New Generation Artist. She also recently debuted with the Atlanta and Dallas Symphony Orchestras, the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, as well as re-engagements with the Chicago, Saint Louis and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras. Murray is an avid recitalist, having performed programs all over the country. She is also a dedicated chamber musician, with a membership in the conductorless East Coast Chamber Orchestra. 

Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony
Saturday, June 20, 2009 8:30 pm
Josep Caballé-Domenech, conductor
Brinton Averil Smith, cello
Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini, Opus 32
Korngold: Cello Concerto in C major, Opus 37
Bruch: Kol Nidrei, Adagio on Hebrew Melodies for Cello and Orchestra, Opus 47
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 in E-flat major, Opus 70

Brinton Averil Smith, principal cellist of the Houston Symphony, performs the stormy Cello Concerto Erich Korngold wrote for the Bette Davis film noir Deception.

On their second concert of the summer at Miller Outdoor Theatre, Houston Symphony will perform Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony while also featuring Principal Cellist Brinton Averil-Smith on pieces by Korngold and Bruch on June 20th. The concert is the second of five free performances scheduled for the summer as a part of the KPRC Local 2 Summer Symphony Nights.

Marking his debut with the Houston Symphony, Barcelona born Josep Caballé-Domenech will lead the orchestra through the program. Born into a family of musicians, Caballe-Domenech studied piano, violin, voice and percussion before exploring conducting at the University of Music and Scenic Arts in Vienna and at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen, where he received the Aspen Prize. He has performed with various international orchestras and was principal guest conductor of the Norrköping Symphony from 2005-07, and has appeared several times as guest conductor of the Aspen Festival Orchestra.

Prior to joining the Houston Symphony as principal cellist in 2005, Brinton Averil-Smith was a member of the New York Philharmonic and principal cellist of the San Diego and Fort Worth symphony orchestras. Smith’s career has included being a prize winner for the Leonard Rose International Cello Competition, various chamber performances with trios and quartets all over the country, and recognition from BBC Music Magazine and American Record Guide for his recording with violinist Gil Shaham and pianist Akira Eguchi for Canary Classics. Smith is currently on the faculty at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. 

Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto
Friday, June 26, 2009 8:30 pm
Robert Franz, conductor
Roberto Plano, piano
Liadov: Baba-Yaga, Opus 56
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Opus 37
Haydn: Symphony No. 22 in E-flat major, The Philosopher
R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Opus 28

Houston Symphony Associate Conductor Robert Franz pairs the moving Adagio of Haydn’s Philosopher Symphony with the mischievous music of Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks.

Kicking off another weekend at Miller Outdoor Theatre, Houston Symphony will perform Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto on June 26th at 8:30 PM with Symphony Associate Conductor Robert Franz leading the orchestra along with a performance by featured guest pianist Roberto Plano. This concert is the third of five free performances scheduled for the summer as a part of the KPRC Local 2 Summer Symphony Nights.

Robert Franz began his tenure as Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony in June 2008 and has since led the Symphony in family concerts, pops programs and a classical concert at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Most recently, he conducted Leading Ladies of the Silver Screen concerts in April and several Sounds Like Fun! performances this month. He also holds the posts of music director of the Boise Philharmonic and the Mansfield 

Symphony Orchestra, and music director emeritus of the Carolina Chamber Symphony. A nationally recognized leader of arts education, Franz twice received the ASCAP Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming and is the 2008 recipient of the BPO/ECMEA Music Educators Award for Excellence.

First prize winner of the 2001 Cleveland International Piano Competition, finalist at the Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2005, and laureate of both the 2003 Honens International Piano Competition (Calgary) and the 2006 AXA Dublin International Piano Competition, Italian pianist Roberto Plano has performed throughout North America and Europe with orchestras and in recital. As a result of his success at the Van Cliburn Competition, he appeared in the film documentaries In the Heart of Music and Encore! with James Conlon, which were aired on PBS stations across the United States. This performance marks his debut with the Houston Symphony.

Schumann’s Spring Symphony
Saturday, June 27, 2009 8:30 pm
Brett Mitchell, conductor
2nd place winner of the 2009 Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition
Program to include:
Barber: Medea’s Dance of Vengeance, Opus 23A
Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major, Opus 38, Spring

Robert Schumann asked a conductor to “instill in [his] orchestra a longing for Spring” when leading performances of his spirited First Symphony.

Houston Symphony performs Schumann’s Spring Symphony at Miller Outdoor Theatre on June 27th with Brett Mitchell leading the orchestra and a performance of Elgar’s cello concerto by the Silver Medal winner of the 2009 Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition, Hee-Young Lim. The concert is the fourth of five free performances scheduled for the summer as a part of the KPRC Local 2 Summer Symphony Nights.

Brett Mitchell was appointed Assistant Conductor/American Conducting Fellow of the Houston Symphony in September 2007. Since that time, he has led the orchestra in more than 50 performances, most recently an April subscription performance with Leila Josefowicz, stepping in for Thomas Dausgaard at the last minute. From 2006 to 2009, he was assistant conductor of the Orchestre National de France. Mitchell received the inaugural Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Scholarship and studied with Leonard Slatkin as part of the 2005 National Conducting Institute. He was the youngest semifinalist from a pool of more than 500 applicants in the Third International Conductors’ Competition and was selected as a finalist for the 2007 Thelma A. Robinson Award presented by the Conductors Guild.

Performing the piece that won her the silver medal at the June 2009 Ima Hogg Young Artist’s Competition, sponsored by the Houston Symphony League, Hee-Young Lim will make her second appearance with the Houston Symphony. A Korean native by birth, Lim earned a bachelor’s degree from the Korean National University of Arts, where she was the youngest student ever accepted. She currently pursues a master’s degree at the New England Conservatory. Lim’s talent has been awarded in numerous competitions around the country and she continues to appear in festivals and as a chamber musician and recitalist on several continents.

In addition to the support of KPRC Local 2, these five concerts are sponsored in part by the City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board. Media sponsors for the series are KUHF 88.7 FM and the Houston Chronicle. All performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre are FREE to the public, and no tickets are required for seating on the lawn. For more information on obtaining free tickets for reserved covered seating, visit www.milleroutdoortheatre.com.

About KPRC Local 2
On January 1, 1949, KPRC Local 2 became the first television station to broadcast over the airwaves in Houston (original call sign KLEE-TV). It went on to become the first station in Houston to broadcast in color, first with weather radar, and the first to hire female and African-American reporters. KPRC has a rich history of local programming and helping its community through programs like The Eyes of Texas and The Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, and community partnerships with organizations such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Discovery Green, Houston Symphony and Miller Outdoor Theatre.  KPRC Local 2, LATV Houston, ThisTV Houston, and Click2Houston.com are a part of the Post-Newsweek Stations Group, which is owned by the Washington Post Company.