Maestro matters

Hans Graf hits the high notes from Aspen to Tanglewood in a summer of saves

Hans Graf, Houston Symphony music director, was at the helm on opening night ofthe renowned Aspen Music Festival.
Photo by Alex Irvin
Graf substituted for James Levine, conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra atits summer home in Tanglewood.
Photo by Hilary Scott
Hans Graf also did relief conducting at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.
Photo by Zach Mahone

Insiders at the Houston Symphony just can't help themselves. They've dubbed their respected music director Hans Graf as the "Red Adair of Guest Conductors."

The reason is simple enough. More than once this summer, the peripatetic conductor has loaned his talents to symphony orchestras in the lurch. (In other words, putting out fires as the renowned Adair once did in the oil fields.)

When the call came from the Aspen Music Festival for Graf to step in as one of six guest conductors to fill in for David Zinman, who had unexpectedly resigned in April, Graf was at the ready. He led the opening night concert.

His next stop was not far down the road — in Vail where he subbed for Dallas Symphony Orchestra conductor Jaap Van Zweden, who had been sidelined by rotator cuff surgery. Graf led the Dallas musicians at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.

Graf's final 911 substitution was at Tanglewood, home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Lenox, Mass. Houston's maestro was tapped to pinch-hit for conductor James Levine, absent due to health problems.

In addition to those last-minute duties, Graf also conducted the Houston Symphony Dollar Concert in July and then jetted to Chicago to conduct at the Grant Park Music Festival.

After intermittent stopovers in his native Salzburg, Austria, Graf is back in Houston for his 10th season as music director. Look for him on the podium in Jones Hall on opening night Saturday, conducting the evening's presentation, "Vienna Soiree."

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TV news

Taylor Sheridan's Texas oil boom drama Landman renewed for season 2

Photo courtesy of Paramount+

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After a fiery first season, Landman, the Texas oilfield drama from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, is coming back for season two; a premiere date has not yet been revealed.

Landman is based on the Texas Monthly podcast Boomtown, which follows a story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping the climate, economy, and geopolitics. The first season of the series was released in fall 2024 with the last episode airing in January.

According to a March 12 release, the series made Paramount+ history as the streaming service's most watched series global premiere and finale. It ranked in the top 10 of original streaming series, taking the eighth spot. It joined two other Paramount + series, Tulsa King in the fourth spot and Lioness at ninth.

"Landman was one of the biggest shows of the year because of Taylor Sheridan’s unique ability to tap into the cultural zeitgeist, harnessing the Neo-Western themes of rugged individualism, ambition and working-class struggles set against contemporary debates around energy, climate change and economic growth,” says president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks Chris McCarthy in a statement.

Landman, Paramount+ Billy Bob Thornton is back as Tommy Norris in Taylor Sheridan's 'Landman.' Photo courtesy of Paramount+

Starring in the series are Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Andy Garcia, Ali Larter, Jacob Lofland, Michelle Randolph, Paulina Chávez, Kayla Wallace, Mark Collie, James Jordan and Colm Feore. Thornton received a Golden Globe Best Actor nomination for his role as the titular "land man" Tommy Norris, a crisis manager for an oil company.

Sheridan is creator and executive co-producer, and the show is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, and Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions. Landman filmed all over Texas, with much of it shot in the Fort Worth area — near Sheridan's ranch in Weatherford.

A Texas cowboy through and through, Sheridan is the creator of the award-winning series Yellowstone, its prequels 1883 and 1923, and a forthcoming one reportedly called 1944, starring fellow Texan Matthew McConaughey.

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