MUSIC

The Houston Symphony presents Gil Shaham Plus Beethoven 7, Thursday, February 3 and Saturday, February 5 at 8pm, and Sunday, February 6 at 2:30pm, in Jones Hall.

Gil Shaham (pictured) returns to perform Walton’s Violin Concerto, which bathes the listener in a sunny Mediterranean glow.

Violinist Gil Shaham is internationally recognized by audiences and critics alike as one of today’s most virtuosic and engaging classical artists. He is sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with celebrated orchestras and conductors, as well as for recital and ensemble appearances on the great concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals.

Mr. Shaham’s 2006-07 season highlights include appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony, Houston Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, and U.S. tours with both the Chicago Symphony and Orpheus. In addition to recital tours in Europe and Japan he will appear abroad with the orchestras of Berlin, Copenhagen and Moscow, and with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra as part of their 70th Anniversary concerts.

In addition to his many orchestral engagements Mr. Shaham regularly tours in recital with pianist, Akira Eguchi. He has the good fortune to enjoy musical collaboration with his family as well, including his wife, violinist Adele Anthony, his sister pianist Orli Shaham and his brother-in-law, conductor David Robertson. In spring 2007 his dream of bringing together friends and colleagues for chamber music will come to fruition in a tour of Brahms programs, culminating in a series of three concerts at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall.

Among his more than two dozen concerto and solo CD’s, are a number of best sellers, appearing on record charts in the US and abroad. These recordings have earned prestigious awards including multiple Grammys, a Grand Prix du Disque, Diaposon d’or and Gramophone Editor’s Choice. Mr. Shaham’s most recent recordings have been produced for his own label “Canary Classics -- The Faure Album with Akira Eguchi and the Prokofiev Album with Orli Shaham.

Mr. Shaham was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in 1971. He moved with his parents to Israel where at the age of 7 he began violin studies with Samuel Bernstein of the Rubin Academy of Music and granted annual scholarships by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. In 1981, while studying with Haim Taub in Jerusalem, he made debuts with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic. That same year he began his studies with Dorothy DeLay and Jens Ellerman at Aspen. In 1982, after taking first prize in Israel’s Claremont Competition, he became a scholarship student at Juilliard, where he has worked with Ms. DeLay and Hyo Kang. He has also studied at Columbia University.

Gil Shaham was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990. He plays the 1699 “Countess Polignac” Stradivarius. He lives in New York City with his wife, violinist Adele Anthony and their two children.

Scheduled Program:
Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem
Walton: Violin Concerto
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7

Artists:
Hans Graf, conductor
Gil Shaham, violin