MUSIC

The Houston Symphony presents The Planets - An HD Odyssey.  Thursday, January 21, and Saturday-Sunday, January 23-24. 

The Houston Symphony has collaborated with NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and award-winning producer/director, Duncan Copp, to craft a film of the latest, high-definition planetary images that will accompany a live performance of Gustav Holst’s suite, The Planets. The world premiere of The Planets – An HD Odyssey will occur in Houston at Jones Hall on Thursday, January 21, 2010. The monumental and innovative project will have four days in Houston before touring to New York’s Carnegie Hall and Florida’s Kravis Center and Broward Center.

The multi-media event takes an existing classical program with strong popular appeal and pairs it with an arresting visual presentation – a project in keeping with the mission of the Houston Symphony that encourages innovative and engaging symphonic performances.

“The music was the driving force behind the production. The pacing of the film and selection of images were formed by the music. It’s a synergy really; a true marriage of two art forms,” said Copp.

The beautiful and mystifying score by Holst will be performed by the orchestra while the film is shown on a large, 24-foot screen above the stage. The production also carries special significance because of Houston’s relationship with NASA and the Symphony.

“This project offers the chance for two Houston organizations to work together, showcasing their talents and passions in an innovative way while also enhancing our community’s understanding of the universe through these astonishing images,” said Bobby Tudor, president of the Houston Symphony Society Board.

Dreams of developing the unique project began in May 2006 when the orchestra last performed Holst’s The Planets. In a similar music-movie format, the Houston Symphony used a rental film of older planetary pictures to accompany the score and invited NASA astronauts to describe the images before each movement. It was during this period that the astronauts commented on how NASA and JPL had obtained newer, more dramatic images of the planets from recent space explorations. The information inspired the Symphony to find Copp, who filmed the award-winning documentary In the Shadow of the Moon, and commission a film to showcase the new pictures for the concert.

“This combination of music and science can provide a deeper emotional dimension to the splendid cosmic images, a depth which is not to be experienced without the joyful power and delicate sensuality of Holst’s remarkable orchestra pieces,” said Graf. Copp and his team worked with images returned from missions such as the Mars rover explorations, Cassini-Huygens, Voyager 1 and 2, Mariner 10, Magellan, Messenger, and Galileo. The Holst suite, premiered in 1918, pre-Pluto, contains 7 movements – Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune – sans Earth.

In addition to the out-of-this-world imagery, audiences will see a brief selection of interviews that Copp conducted with Graf and several prominent planetary scientists. “These interviews help remind audiences of the humanity behind this production, how it came to be. It’s truly remarkable to hear a scientist recall how he spends his days gathering data and imagery by driving the Mars Rover around the planet’s surface from a computer on Earth. Gratefully, these scientists and Hans Graf have an imagination that brings us to where we are today,” said Copp. More extensive interviews will appear on a companion disc to the project’s DVD available in January. Copp, who holds a Doctorate in Astronomy, was also a member of the NASA team responsible for creating the first detailed geological maps of Venus.

Generous community support helped with overall production costs and also touring expenses for New York and Florida. "The partnership between the Houston Symphony and Carnegie Hall is a unique alignment that will elevate the level of concert innovation as we know it," said Michael C. Linn, Chairman and CEO of LINN Energy, presenting sponsor of the project. "LINN Energy's pledge will bring this special world-premiere event to a wider audience through Duncan Copp’s film while educating audiences through science and music," he added. Various other supporters like The Methodist Hospital System, Weill Cornell Medical College, The Albert & Margaret Alkek Foundation, San Jacinto Community College and KUHF 88.7 FM Houston Public Radio also contributed fiscal support for this initiative.

Program:
Stravinsky: Scherzo fantastique
Dutilleux: Timbres, espace, mouvement (The Starry Night)
Holst: The Planets

Click here to see the movie trailer!

Conductor: Hans Graf

Guests:
Duncan Copp, producer/director
Women of the Houston Symphony Chorus

Pictured:  Jupiter and Io. Photo credit JPL/NASA.