ARTS SEASON STARTS SEPTEMBER

Intown’s Classical Music Critic, the Hon. Philip Berquist

Honorary Consul of the Republic of Croatia for Texas The 2022-2023 Arts Season

Begins this September

Houston Symphony Orchestra

Changes in music directors for a symphony orchestra are a rare occasion. The Houston Symphony has had superb artistic leadership in its DNA with luminaries like Ferenc Fricsay, Leopoldo Stokowski, Sir John Barbirolli, and Andre Previn. Since I moved to Houston in 1970, there have only been five at the Houston Symphony - Lawrence Foster, Sergiu Comissiona, Christoph Eschenbach, Hans Graf, and Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Beginning this month, a new Music Director, Juraj Valčuha, takes the helm.

Born and raised in Bratislava, Slovakia, Valčuha brings an extensive and impressive résumé to Houston. He was Music Director of the Orchestra Sinfonica National Della RAI in Turin, Italy, and is currently Music Director of the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, Italy, as well as First Guest Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He has led many of the major ensembles of the world including the Berlin Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Swedish Radio Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre National de France, the BBC and Philharmonia Orchestras in London, Milan’s Filharmonia della Scala and the Montreal Symphony. In the United States, in addition to previous appearances with the Houston Symphony, he has conducted the orchestras of Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, St Louis, Utah, San Francisco, Minnesota, Pittsburg, and New York.

Once the announcement of his appointment to Houston was public, the Executive Director and CEO of the Houston Symphony, John Mangum, interviewed Valčuha from Berlin, which is available on YouTube. I highly recommend watching it at youtube.com - “Announcing Juraj Valčuha, Music Director Designate” - This is an excerpt of a much longer “A Conversation with Juraj Valčuha” - again, highly recommended watching.

The concerts in September and October are well-rounded and exciting. • September 16, 17, and 18 - Verdi Requiem, conducted by Valčuha. • September 23, 24, 25 - Sibelius Violin Concerto, with Joshua Bell; Shostakovich Symphony 5, conducted by Valčuha.

It looks to me as if the relationship between HSO and violinist virtuoso Itzhak Perlman is blossoming into meaningful collaboration. Perlman appears twice this season, first by performing the Beethoven Violin Concerto in October and returning in April 2023, leading the orchestra in two performances of the Mozart Requiem. • October 20, 22, 23 - Beethoven Violin, Itzhak Perlman soloist; Coleridge-Taylor, The Bamboula, Rhapsodic Dance for Orchestra; Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier Suite, conducted by Valčuha. • October 28, 29, 30 - All Mozart, Symphony 35, the “Hefner,” Simphonia Concertante, Music from “Thamos, King of Egypt,” conducted by Jane Glover.

All performances are at Jones Hal. The Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances begin at 8:00 pm, and Sunday at 2:30 pm. For further tickets and information - www.houstonsymphony.org.

Juraj Valčuha

Houston Grand Opera

HGO opens its season in October with a favorite, “La traviata” by Verdi. This revival, a shared production with Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Canadian Opera Company, will feature the first Houston performance by Grammy-winning soprano Angel Blue as Violeta. Bryan Hymel sings as her lover, Alfredo, and much-praised baritone Andrei Kymach also makes his HGO debut singing the role of Girogio, Alfredo’s conflicted father. Another HGO debut is an American composer and conductor Matthew Aucoin who conducts

• October 21, 23, 29, November 1, 4, and 6.

All performances are in Italian with projected English translation.

What HGO calls “a lost masterpiece” is “The Wreckers.” Composed by Dame Ethel Smyth in 1906, this will be the “first full-scale production by a major American opera company.”

The storyline is undoubtedly intrigu-

“Peter Pan”, Houston Ballet

ing. A town preacher on an ocean coast declares that shipwrecks are premeditated and instructs the citizens not to use the lighthouse at night to ensure that the wrecked ships can be pillaged. Another Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano, Sasha Cooke, sings the lead role.

Conducted by the HGO Music Director, Patrick Summers.

• October 28, 30, and November 5, 9, and 11.

All performances sung in English with projected English translation.

These HGO productions are both staged at the Brown Theater, Wortham Center. Each nightly performance begins at 7:30 pm, with the Sunday performances at 2:00 pm.

For tickets and information, go to www.Houstongrandopera.org.

Houston Ballet

This season begins with “Peter Pan,” the classic children’s tale choreographed by Trey McIntyre with music by Sir Edward Elgar and arranged by Niel DePonte.

• September 9, 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18.

“Good Vibrations” sets three oneact works to dance. “The Letter V” is choreographed by Mark Morris to the music of Joseph Haydn’s Symphony 88. “Red Earth” by Stanton Welch features a dance celebrating the Australian landscapes. “Good Vibrations” by Arthur Pita was set to premiere in Houston in the 2019-2020 season but was canceled due to the pandemic. It is set to music by Christopher Austin based on the Beach Boys’ iconic song.

• September 22, 24, 25, 30, November 1 and 2.

The venue is the Brown Theater, Wortham Center. The nightly performances begin at 7:30 pm, with Sunday performances at 2:00 pm. Note that Friday, September 9, Opening Night begins at 7:00 pm.

Keep the emails coming at classicalmusicberquist@gmail.com

See you in a couple of months.