Houston Symphony Performs Tchaikovsky's PATHETIQUE

Finnish conductor John Storgårds returns to the Houston Symphony to conduct Tchaikovsky's Pathétique and internationally recognized violinist Vadim Gluzman in the program Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique" at 8 p.m. Jan. 17 & 18 and 2:30 p.m. Jan. 19. This performance marks the North American premiere performances of Midnight Sun Variations, a new work dedicated to Storgårds by Finnish composer Outi Tarkiainen.

Violin virtuoso Gluzman takes center stage in Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 2. These will be the first time the Houston Symphony has performed this concerto by the venerable Russian composer. Written for the famed violinist David Oistrakh, it's the last concerto Shostakovich composed, an example of his mature, more profound late style, compared to his flashier first violin concerto.

Opening the program, Storgårds conducts the Midnight Sun Variations by Finnish composer, Outi Tarkiainen. Midnight Sun Variation premiered in at the BBC Proms in August with conductor Storgårds, to whom the piece is dedicated. To close out the program, the Symphony under the direction of Storgårds performs Tchaikovsky's final masterwork, Symphony No. 6, Pathétique. Named for its passionate and emotional character, the Pathétique was described by Tchaikovsky as his best and "most sincere" work.

In addition, Storgårds joins Symphony musicians in a chamber music performance of Mendelssohn's String Octet at Live Oak Friends Meeting Skyspace on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. as a part of the Houston Symphony's Chamber Music Series. The Chamber Music Series is made possible in part by the generous support from: Robin Angly and Miles Smith, Nancy and Walter Bratic, Eugene Fong, Gary L. Hollingsworth and Kenneth J. Hyde, Ms. Leslie Nossaman, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Nuccio, Ed and Janet Rinehart, and Bobby and Phoebe Tudor.

Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique," sponsored by Frost Bank Classics, takes 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 visit houstonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.

About the Houston Symphony

During the 2019-20 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its sixth season with Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada and continues its second century as one of America's leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring, and recording activities. The Houston Symphony, one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston June 21, 1913. Today, with an annual operating budget of $35.2 million, the full-time ensemble of 88 professional musicians presents nearly 170 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Additionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony's four Community-Embedded Musicians offer over 1,000 community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, and churches reaching nearly 200,000 people in Greater Houston annually.

The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Koch International Classics, Naxos, RCA Red Seal, Telarc, Virgin Classics, and, most recently, Dutch recording label Pentatone. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg's Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category.