Pianist Kirill Gerstein to Perform with Houston Symphony, 1/22

HOUSTON (January 19, 2016) - Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada will conduct two works by Shostakovich and Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand with guest pianist Kirill Gerstein at 8 p.m. on January 22 and 23 and 2:30 p.m. January 24.

The program of 20th century classics will begin with Shostakovich's short but aptly-titled Festive Overture, which kicks off with a brass fanfare and continues to gain momentum throughout its exciting six-minute duration.

Next, award-winning pianist Kirill Gerstein will return to the Jones Hall stage for Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. Inspired and commissioned by pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm during World War I, Ravel's moving score creates the aural illusion of using two hands while requiring only one. Gerstein has performed and collaborated with orchestral ensembles worldwide and was the youngest student ever to attend Boston's Berklee College of Music, at just 14 years old.

Shostakovich's deeply personal Symphony No. 10 will close out the program. The symphony was written in the wake of Stalin's death and contains a biting caricature of the Soviet dictator. The work has four movements and ends with a thrilling and emotionally intense finale.

The concert will take place at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston's Theater District. For tickets and information, please call (713) 224-7575 or visitwww.houstonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.