“For the Houston Symphony’s opening night concert, the orchestra will be joined by multi-award-winning actor Ben Kingsley, who will be narrating Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf” at Jones Hall on September 17, led by Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada, writes Joshua Zinn on Friday (9/9) at Houston Public Media. “This combination could hardly be more fitting, given Kingsley’s role as Bagheera in Disney’s most recent iteration of The Jungle Book.… Next February, the orchestra celebrates American composer John Adams’ 70th birthday [with] former Houston Symphony Music Director Hans Graf leading performances of Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Adams’s Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra … and Ravel’s famous orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.… The Houston Symphony Chorus [and] orchestra … will join forces … for the world premiere of a new commission from the Houston Symphony’s composer-in-residence Gabriela Lena Frank, [whose] Requiem is described as ‘a multicultural work that interweaves tradition Latin and Meso-American texts with new passages by Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz.’ ” On September 18, the Houston Symphony will perform a free “Fiesta Sinfonica” concert celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, with Orozco-Estrada and music by Bernstein, Gershwin, Ginastera, and Peruvian composer Jimmy López.
Posted September 15, 2016
