MUSIC

The Houston Symphony presents Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin, Thursday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19 at  8pm, and Sunday, November 21 at 2:30pm in Jones Hall. You’ll be enthralled by Bartók’s musical portrayal of greed, lust, crime and the ultimate power of love.

The Houston Symphony and Music Director Hans Graf are pairing Béla Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin, a spiraling tale of greed and lust, with Brahm’s adventurous Symphony No. 3 on November 18, 20, and 21 in Jones Hall. Also showcased on the program will be 26-year-old violinist Augustin Hadelich (pictured) who will make his Jones Hall debut having last performed with the orchestra in 2008 at Miller Outdoor Theatre.

Inspired by well-known writer Menyhért Lengyel’s controversial tale, The Miraculous Mandarin, Bartók composed a ballet themed around the story and explores love’s influence on human actions. The tale involves an alluring young girl who is forced by thieves to help lure men so that they could rob and kill them. A wealthy mandarin is their final victim who is so entranced with the girl that he will not die until she gives herself to him, a testament to the power of love.

Performing Poème for Violin and Orchestra by Ernest Chausson and Ravel’s Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra, Hadelich will demonstrate the fiery talent that earned him the 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2005 Gold Medal at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. 

About Hans Graf
Known for his wide range of repertoire and creative programming, distinguished Austrian Hans Graf – the Houston Symphony’s 15th Music Director – is one of today's most highly respected musicians. He began his tenure in Houston on Opening Night of the 2001-2002 season.

Graf is a frequent guest with all of the major North American orchestras and made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Houston Symphony in January 2006 and then returned in March 2007 leading the Orchestra of St. Luke's. He and the Houston Symphony were invited to appear at Carnegie Hall once again in January 2010 at which time they presented the New York premiere of The Planets – An HD Odyssey, featuring exclusive high definition images from NASA's exploration of the solar system accompanied by Holst's famous work, The Planets.

Graf conducts in the foremost concert halls of Europe, Japan and Australia. He has appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, as well as with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic. In October 2010, Mr. Graf lead the Houston Symphony on a tour of the United Kingdom which included performances in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and two performances at the Barbican in London.

Graf has participated in such prestigious European festivals as the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bregenz and Aix en Provence and appeared at the Salzburg Festival for twelve consecutive seasons. In summer 2010, Graf conducted the opening concert of the Aspen Music Festival and returned to Tanglewood and Chicago's Grant Park Festival.

He was awarded the Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria in 2007 and France’s Chevalier de l’ordre de la Legion d’Honneur in 2002. Maestro Graf and his wife, Margarita, have homes in Salzburg and Houston.

About Augustin Hadelich
With his poetic style and dazzling technique, Augustin Hadelich has established himself as a rising star among the new generation of violinists. His versatility across the entire spectrum of the violin repertory is astounding. The New York Times wrote, “Hadelich stands out amid gifted young violinists for his prodigious technique, gorgeous tone and the ability to deliver well-known works with a distinctive interpretive flair.”

In August 2009, Hadelich made a sensational debut with the Cleveland Orchestra and has been re-invited to play the Mendelssohn Concerto in March 2011. Other upcoming highlights include his Paris recital debut at the Louvre (with pianist Robert Kulek), a BBC young artist’s debut recital at The Sage Gateshead in Newcastle, his debut with the Helsinki Philharmonic, a return engagement with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and debuts next season with the symphonies of Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Phoenix, Seattle, Utah and Vancouver.

Hadelich has recorded two highly acclaimed CDs for Naxos: Haydn’s complete violin concerti with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra, and Telemann’s complete Fantasies for Solo Violin. A new CD of masterworks for solo violin (including the Bartók solo sonata) was released by AVIE in October 2009. In the words of the London Times, “Now in his mid-twenties, Augustin Hadelich is fast emerging as a significant talent. This recital of music for unaccompanied solo violin, however, is a step beyond…he is both a virtuoso violinist and a deeply thoughtful one.” A second disc for AVIE will be released in 2011.

Born in Italy in 1984, the son of German parents, Hadelich holds a graduate diploma and Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Joel Smirnoff. As first-prize winner of the Indianapolis Competition, Hadelich plays on the 1683 ex-Gingold Stradivari violin. For more information, please visit www.augustin-hadelich.com.

About the Houston Symphony
The Houston Symphony has played a central role in Houston’s cultural and civic life since 1913. Each year, the Houston Symphony performs more than 170 concerts for approximately 350,000 people, featuring an innovative and broad spectrum of classical, popular, education and community-based symphonic programming.

For tickets and more information, please visit www.houstonsymphony.org  or call 713-224-7575.

Scheduled Program:
Bartók: Miraculous Mandarin
Chausson: Poème for Violin and Orchestra
Ravel: Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra
Brahms: Symphony No. 3

Artists:
Hans Graf, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin