- Conductor for this concert, as well as the composer of the final work. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of the artist's website)
- Violin soloist on Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Violin Concerto for this concert. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of the artist's website)
- Saxophone soloist on John Adams' City Noir on this concert. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of the artist's website)
John Adams presents his own music on the next Houston Symphony Broadcast! Along with a work inspired by our neighbors to the south, and a violin concerto that sounds like film music... for a reason!
Opening the concert is a piece by Aaron Copland. And for a composer who is known developing a recognizable, distinctly American style, El Salón México is an interesting departure from that! He visited Mexico frequently after an initial trip in 1932, and this piece was inspired by Copland's experience in a dance hall that bears the same name, containing portions of Mexican folk music.
Following that, esteemed violinist Gil Shaham will take the stage for Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Violin Concerto. As a composer known best for film music, it's no surprise how cinematic this concerto is, given that Korngold borrowed material from his own scores for each of the movements.
Finally, John Adams leads the orchestra in his own work, City Noir. Inspired by the infusion of jazz and classical music popularized by composers like George Gershwin and Darius Milhaud, this piece prominently features the alto saxophone, with Timothy McAllister taking that role with the symphony. The three movements of the piece are "The City and its Double," "The Song is for You," and "Boulevard Night."
Tune in for this concert Sunday (1/22) on News 88.7 or Wednesday (1/25) on Houston Public Media Classical at 8 PM.
