Showpieces star in Houston Symphony’s memorable season opener

Angel Blue, Juraj Valčuha and the Houston Symphony

By Phillip Nones, 26 September 2025

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“sharp attacks, precision ensemble and decent French diction”

Reviewed at Jones Hall, Houston on 20 September 2025

Wolfe, Liberty Bell Overture (World premiere)

Schmitt, Psalm 47 "Gloire du Seigneur", Op.38

Stravinsky, The Firebird: Suite

Juraj Valčuha, Conductor

Angel Blue, Soprano

Anthony J. Maglione, Choirmaster / chorus director

Betsy Cook Weber, Choirmaster / chorus director

Houston Symphony Chorus

Houston Chamber Choir

Houston Symphony

Death and lunacy in Juraj Valčuha's Houston Symphony program

Kurt Gottschalk, 15th February

A mad March hare, a murdered child, a hypochondriac prince, and a roomful of dead wives make for a stellar concert by the Houston Symphony Orchestra.

*****

Brilliant Bach from Jane Glover and the Houston Symphony

Sam Jacobson, 3rd April

The Houston Symphony showed the many sides of Bach in a festive performance over the Easter weekend.

***11

Bach by arrangement: Houston Symphony under Esa-Pekka Salonen

Kurt Gottschalk, 27th March

Listening to arrangements of Bach is like Dostoevsky’s challenge not to think about polar bears. It’s best to put the Bach out of your thoughts, even if “the cursed thing will come to mind every minute.”

****1

Full-bodied Beethoven from Yefim Bronfman and Fabien Gabel in Houston

Phillip Nones, 6th March

Fabien Gabel and the Houston Symphony Orchestra present memorable Beethoven performances that are solidly in the Austro-German tradition.

****1

A successful Beethoven 8 in Houston

Laurence Vittes, 30th January

Brinton Averil Smith, the Symphony's principal cello, approached Haydn's D major Concerto with bold courage and passionate, if inconsistently manufactured, strokes.

***11

A confused “Resurrection” at the Houston Symphony

Sydney Boyd, 13th September

In a failed mash-up, the Houston Symphony performed only the first movement (the three-minute “Prelude: Maestoso”) of Ives’ Fourth Symphony and continued attacca into the 80 minutes of Mahler's "Resurrection."

**111

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Phillip Nones

Phillip Nones studied piano from age six, also playing percussion in educational and civic groups before moving to a rural area of the USA in 1990, where performance opportunities were few. Recently he has started performing again, participating in “side-by-side” orchestra performances and playing percussion in the World Doctors' Orchestra. His personal collection of music includes over 5,000 classical albums in all formats (CDs, LPs, 78s), plus downloads. In his professional life, he heads up a marketing communications firm in the state of Maryland. He blogs about the French composer Florent Schmitt here.

Choral and orchestral showpieces star in Houston Symphony’s memorable season opener