Houston area classical music groups are releasing their 2012-13 season calendars and, while there are a few events to be excited about, things are verging on the ho-hum.
The highs:
- Tristan und Isolde at Houston Grand Opera with Ben Heppner and Nina Stemme.
- The Rite of Spring at Houston Ballet with world premiere choreography by Stanton Welch.
- A world premiere of a new, substantial work by Sebastian Currier by Musiqa.
The low:
- The Houston Symphony's season. All of it. Things couldn't look more drab, with two possible beacons of light in a concert performance of Wozzeck and another program featuring Dutilleux's Second Symphony. The other not-so-innovative obligatory bows to "new music" are John Adams' The Chariman Dances and Magnus Lindberg's Feria. With all the excitement being generated by the orchestras of America's major musical cities (LA, Chicago, New York, St. Louis), the HSO has really dropped the ball here. A true tribute to Graf would have been a substantial new commission, by a local (at least Texan) composer to celebrate his tenure. Of course, that wouldn't be in keeping with his apparent modus operandi.
Another 3-concert series: "The Best of Brahms." The good thing about this is that we get a return of John Storgårds, whose recent Beethoven Fifth was a highlight of the current season. We'll also get excellent pianism from Garrick Ohlsson in the first concerto and Jonathan Biss in the second, as well as what is certain to be excellent singing from the HSO Chorus in the German Requiem.
However, just as in this season's triumverate "RachFest," don't expect any rarities from Brahms, although thankfully there was no attempt at a clever pun to title the series. I suppose this is the "best of," but it's a shame that, for instance, Tragic Overture was just on the program and will make a return in a mere seven months. Ditto the Second Symphony. We just had a performance of that this season. Be imaginative. One of the Serenades would have been nice.
The season casts the organization as fairly irrelevant to the city of Houston with programming like this. Loudly advertised as "Graf's Farewell," I can only say...good riddance. Hopefully the search for a new, vibrant music director will bear fruit. Rumor has it that there might not be a confirmed appointee for the 2013-14 season.
The conclusion:
- It seems audiences will have to look elsewhere, to the smaller organizations, for the truly innovative programming. Save your money for subscriptions to Musiqa, Da Camera and River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, all of whose complete 2012-13 seasons are yet to be announced, and support the organizations who are truly making an effort to keep classical music relevant!
