The Houston Symphony's upcoming season offers something for just about everyone, with a salute to living composers, an all-Mozart program on Thanksgiving weekend and collaborations with a wide range of celebrity figures, including superstar singer Andrea Bocelli, funnyman Seth McFarlane and acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
The 2016-17 season was unveiled Monday night at Jones Hall before an audience of symphony supporters. The event will be broadcast on Houston Public Media TV 8 on Friday (January 29) at 8:30 pm.
Among the highlights:
Opening Night
In his third year as Houston Symphony conductor, Andrés Orozco-Estrada opens the season with a performance of Prokofiev’s enduring classic, Peter and the Wolf, on September 17, 2016, featuring a celebrity guest narrator, at Jones Hall. A gala will follow at The Corinthian.
Salute to John Adams
As part of a salute to living composers, John Adams’ 70th birthday will be celebrated in two different programs in early 2017: Doctor Atomic Symphony, a work inspired by Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project, and Adams' Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra, featuring native Houstonian Timothy McAllister, who inspired the work.
World Premiere
Houston Symphony Composer-in-Residence Gabriela Lena Frank’s Requiem, a multicultural work that interweaves traditional Latin and Meso-American texts with new text by Pulitzer Prize-winner Nilo Cruz, will have its world premiere in May 2017.
Great Masterworks
The classical season, over 18 concert weekends, will include Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 and the completion of the three-season Beethoven cycle of all nine symphonies featuring the composer’s Sixth and Seventh Symphonies as well as Beethoven’s only opera Fidelio.
Yo Yo Ma Returns
Superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma returns for Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, a powerful masterpiece written during the time Dvořák spent in America, on February 4, 2017.
Former Conductors Are Back, Too
Former Houston Symphony music directors Hans Graf and Christoph Eschenbach are among the season's guest conductors, along with Fabien Gabel, James Gaffigan, Vasily Petrenko and Kazuki Yamada.
Seth MacFarlane Performs
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane makes his debut with the Houston Symphony on Labor Day weekend (September 4), singing hidden gems of the 1940s and 1950s swing era, along with selections from the Great American Songbook.
Raiders of the Lost Ark Live!
The Symphony’s Summer Series at Jones Hall celebrates the classic film’s 35th anniversary when the Houston Symphony performs John Williams’ score in its entirety as fans watch the epic film on the big screen.
POPs Season Highlights
Principal POPS conductor Michael Krajewski takes up the baton for his final season with a lineup that includes Broadway vocalist Linda Eder, Pink Martini, 50 years of music from James Bond films, and a "Classic Broadway" celebration featuring the music of composers Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Cole Porter and George Gershwin during Krajewski's final weekend with the POPs orchestra.
Family Stuff
The symphony family series includes a "Magic Carpet Ride,” with music from Disney’s Aladdin, a jazzy “Mardi Gras Menagerie” and “Dr. Seuss at the Symphony,” spotlighting music from Green Eggs and Ham.
For more information on the full season, visit www.houstonsymphony.org.
Seth MacFarlane, who hosted the 2013 Oscars, will appear with the Houston Symphony on Labor Day weekend, singing swing hits of the '40s and '50s.
