The Houston Symphony and Music Director Hans Graf have announced details of the orchestra’s 2009-10 season, which opens on September 12 with Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, with soloist Emanuel Ax. The opening concert will also provide a brief preview of “The Planets—An HD Odyssey,” a new orchestra commission scheduled for full performances at three January concerts; the “Planets” concerts will feature the orchestra in Holst’s The Planets along with a film by filmmaker/scientist Duncan Copp, based on images from NASA’s latest explorations of the solar system. Copp holds a doctorate in astronomy and was a member of the NASA team responsible for creating the first detailed geological maps of Venus. The orchestra’s upcoming season also will include the North American premiere of Robert Wiene’s 1926 silent film version of Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, which will be projected onscreen as the HSO plays the live score, which was adapted by Strauss as an orchestral score specifically for the film; a new commissioned work for chorus and orchestra by Kevin Puts; and appearances by pianist Lang Lang and guest conductors Christoph Eschenbach, Marin Alsop, and Edward Gardner.
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