Looking good for a century

Houston Symphony reveals a starry 100th anniversary lineup: The big names coming are . . .

By Joel Luks

02.06.13 | 8:00 pm

The Houston Symphony is looking mighty fresh in the eve of its centennial anniversary. A new, artsy logo alongside a robust guest list of musicians and conductors ushers a year-long musical fê ...

The Review is In

Houston Symphony needs to drop its social party fixation and go big musically: Where are the wows?

By Joel Luks

09.15.12 | 7:03 am

There's something intriguing about the tradition of Houston Symphony opening night dinner galas. The accompanying concert isn't treated as an opportunity to bring out the big guns of classi ...

A Fallon-esque idea

Thank you to Coughing Man, Unknown Amateur Photographer & others who disrupt Houston's art performances

By Leslie Loddeke

05.12.12 | 3:10 pm

Thank you, Unknown Coughing Man, for that remarkable barking-Rottweiler counterpoint you projected from the audience to diva Joyce DiDonato’s silvery swan song at the end of Houston Grand Ope ...

CultureMap Interview

The traveling virtuoso: Joshua Bell discusses his Houston concert and his $8 million violin

By Joel Luks

01.16.12 | 10:13 am

Like Niccolò Paganini, whose virtuosic abilities were rumored to have been attributed to being possessed by the devil, pianist Franz Liszt and young Mozart, the tradition of the traveli ...

Society for the Performing Arts presents Violinist Joshua Bell

Jones Hall

01.20.12

For more than two decades, Joshua Bell has been captivating audiences worldwide with his poetic musicality. He came to national attention at the age of 14 in an orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti

Ooh la la!

Houston debut of Ebène Quartet provides a romantic night in Paris without leaving the Hobby Center

By Leslie Loddeke

04.17.11 | 7:44 pm

Thanks to Sarah Rothenberg, I spent Saturday night in Paris with four handsome Frenchmen I’d never met before, who accomplished an immediate seduction by serenading me with an absolutely  ...

A Special Day

Houston composer Todd Frazier's work gets the Kennedy Center treatment with Renée Fleming

By Joel Luks

04.02.11 | 2:00 pm

Sunday is a special day for Houston composer, arts administration guru and all-around good guy J. Todd Frazier. Soprano superstar Renée Fleming will sing one of his  ...

45 and countin

Ring that (Joshua) Bell and other highlights of SPA 2011-12 season

By Joel Luks

03.08.11 | 6:30 am

How much do I love thee? Let me count the ways. And I count 45. That how many years Society for the Performing Arts (SPA), Houston's main cultural import organization, has been figuring out ...

Cheapskate's Guide to the Finer Things in Life

If you liked Joshua Bell at $25, you'll love Augustin Hadelich at $12.50

By Leslie Loddeke

11.17.10 | 9:46 pm

The Frugal Fraulein scores again! Recently, I discovered I could get a front-row seat to hear world-acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell in an early October guest performance with the Houston Sympho ...

Cheapskate's Guide to the Finer Things in Life

What a deal: I paid $25 for a front-row seat for Joshua Bell

By Leslie Loddeke

10.02.10 | 3:23 pm

If you’re a classical music lover like me, you simply cannot deprive yourself of the opportunity this weekend to hear violinist Joshua Bell play the most heavenly music on his price ...