Introduction
This paper will briefly review the opening night concerts/performances hosted on September 17, 2016, beginning 7.30 pm, by the Houston Symphony Orchestra at the Jones Hall, Houston, Texas (more precisely, the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts). The concert was conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the Houston Symphony’s music director. The performance venue is the Orchestra’s as well as the Houston Society for the Performing Arts’ permanent home (Houston Symphony).
Review of Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf"
The spectacular musical story by Prokofiev, performed by the Orchestra, features a valiant young boy, Peter, who aids his friends -- the animal of the forest -- outwit a predator. The Orchestra accompanies Sir Ben Kingsley, the famed Oscar-winner, who brings the tale to life as narrator, through a mesmerizing rendition. All characters possess musical alter egos, and the Orchestra's many instruments are used to represent Peter's animal friends. First written and composed in the year 1936, this musical piece famously employs personified musical instruments to relate the tale of the boy (string), a bird (flute), a duck (oboe) and an impish cat (clarinet). The boy becomes the unsuspecting hero, outsmarting the wicked wolf (represented by French horns), who is determined to menace the boy's little Russian village and his dear animal pals (Smith).
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But all parts of the tale aren't cheery -- the antagonist swallows an unlucky duck. The sonic part is highly ingenious and so engaging that the effect, overall, is thoroughly uplifting. The end displays a moving turn to the moonlight. As the clever match of instrument with character in the composition allows virtually every listener to easily visualize the scenes, the short, original text suffices in neatly getting the performance done.
Review of Gioachino Antonio Rossini's Overture to "the Thieving Magpie" (La gazza ladra)
Rossini's Thieving Magpie was composed in the year 1817, in the form of an opera with two acts. The Overture is available in Italian and German editions, with the latter (which I heard in the performance I attended) featuring a more forceful brass element. This score entails a piccolo and flute, two oboes, four horns, timpani, three trombones, two clarinets, bass drum, two bassoons, snare drum, two trumpets, tuba, strings, and triangle (Steinberg).
La gazza ladra may be considered a comedy work, or a drama having a significant number of comic features, with a happy finale that takes roughly 10 minutes. Moving from the overture's introduction to its main part, the composer switches to minor from major, commencing a new section…
