Bachtrack logo
What's on
All eventsConcertsOperaDanceKids eventsMasterclassesCompetitionsFestivals
Reviews
All reviewsConcert reviewsOpera reviewsDance reviews
Articles
All articlesFeaturesInterviewsOpinionPlaylists
News
Video
Video homeAll videoStreamed eventsConcertsOperaDanceKids eventsMasterclassesPublishers
Site
About usContact usLink to usConditions of useCookiesPrivacy
Young artists
Travel
EventsReviewsArticlesVideo

Houston Symphony's fierce Red Violin and opulent Pines of Rome

By Sydney Boyd, 21 April 2017
Loading, please wait...
See full listing
“an urgent striving forward through runs, double stops, and dark bow crunches at the bridge”
Reviewed at Jones Hall, Houston on 20 April 2017
Programme
Verdi, Un giorno di regno (Ouverture)
Corigliano, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra "The Red Violin"
Respighi, Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome)
Respighi, Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome)
Performers
Vasily Petrenko, Conductor
Elina Vähälä, Violin
Houston Symphony
More Concert reviews
Houston Symphony vividly brings Peer Gynt to life
Sam Jacobson, 28th March
Blending theater and symphony, the Houston Symphony reimagines Peer Gynt as Grieg intended – complete with dialogue, chorus, and a luminous cameo from Karita Mattila.
****1
Showpieces star in Houston Symphony’s memorable season opener
Phillip Nones, 20th September

Celebration is on the menu at the Houston Symphony Orchestra’s season opening weekend of concerts, conducted by Juraj Valčuha. 

****1
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
More reviews...
Read reviews of
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra "The Red Violin"Elina VähäläFontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome)Giuseppe VerdiHouston SymphonyJohn CoriglianoOttorino RespighiPini di Roma (Pines of Rome)Un giorno di regnoVasily Petrenko
Related articles
Loading image...
Houston Grand Opera names James Gaffigan as next Music Director
Loading image...
The art of memory: classical music for mourning
Loading image...
Elim Chan: from Sorcerer’s Apprentice to Proms Queen and beyond
Loading image...
Opera in the blood: Speranza Scappucci
Sydney Boyd
Sydney Boyd
Sydney Boyd is an arts writer, scholar, and violinist. She has been a music critic in Houston since 2012 and is the blog author of Girl at the Opera. She has a Ph.D. in English literature from Rice University, where she currently holds a post-doctoral Spatial Studies fellowship in the Humanities Research Center.