Houston Symphony Orchestra Opening Night 2016 Review
This paper reviews the Houston Symphony Orchestra's opening night concert held on September 17, 2016, at Jones Hall in Houston, Texas, conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada. The paper examines three featured works: Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf," narrated by Sir Ben Kingsley; Rossini's Overture to "La gazza ladra" (The Thieving Magpie); and a suite drawn from Richard Strauss's opera "Der Rosenkavalier." Each work is analyzed in terms of its instrumentation, compositional structure, historical background, and overall effect on the audience during the live performance.
- Introduction: Venue, date, conductor, and concert overview
- Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf: Instrumentation, narration, and performance impressions
- Rossini's Overture to La gazza ladra: Compositional features and live performance reaction
- Strauss's Suite from Der Rosenkavalier: Opera plot, suite structure, and waltz sequences
- Conclusion: Overall verdict on the conductor and orchestra
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What makes this paper effective
- The review moves logically through each of the three performed works, providing historical context, instrumentation details, and a personal evaluative response for each piece.
- The writer effectively blends factual background sourced from program notes and critics with first-person observations, grounding claims in both research and lived experience.
- Concise but specific descriptions — such as noting the German edition's "more forceful brass element" in the Rossini overture — demonstrate attentive listening and add credibility to the review.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the technique of source-supported evaluation: each work is introduced with cited scholarly or critical commentary (Smith, Steinberg, Mangum), which is then integrated with the student's own impressionistic and analytical judgments. This prevents the review from being purely subjective while still preserving the personal voice appropriate to the concert review genre.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a clear sequential structure: a brief introduction establishes the venue, date, and conductor; three body sections each address one performed composition in order of performance; and a short conclusion offers an overall verdict. Each body section follows the same internal pattern — historical background, instrumentation, compositional features, and personal reaction — giving the paper a consistent and readable rhythm across its sections.
Introduction
This paper reviews the opening night concert hosted on September 17, 2016, beginning at 7:30 pm, by the Houston Symphony Orchestra at 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 serves as the permanent home of both the Orchestra and the Houston Society for the Performing Arts (Houston Symphony).
Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf
The spectacular musical story by Prokofiev, performed by the Orchestra, features a valiant young boy, Peter, who helps his friends — the animals 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 1936, this musical piece famously employs personified musical instruments to tell the tale of the boy (strings), 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 companions (Smith).
According to Smith, the tale's opening affords very rich action and imagery, requiring no spoken words at all; the music is treated with deep respect throughout. Not all parts of the tale are cheery — the antagonist swallows an unlucky duck. The sonic elements are highly ingenious and so engaging that the overall effect is thoroughly uplifting. The ending displays a moving turn toward the moonlight. Because the clever matching of instrument with character allows virtually every listener to easily visualize the scenes, the short original text suffices in neatly completing the performance.
Rossini's Overture to La gazza ladra
Rossini's La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) was composed in 1817 as a two-act opera. The Overture is available in Italian and German editions; the latter, which was performed at the concert I attended, features a more forceful brass element. The score calls for 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, or a drama with a significant number of comic features, with a happy finale lasting roughly ten minutes. Moving from the overture's introduction to its main part, the composer switches from major to minor, commencing a new section with a contrasting theme built on light-footed pianissimo triplets. This theme, introduced by the oboe, struck me as charmingly glib. As one might expect from a Rossini work, the overture is followed by an enticing crescendo. In its own right, the piece is undeniably one of Rossini's masterpieces (Steinberg).
Conclusion
On the whole, the orchestra with its opera soloists and actors was conducted commendably by Orozco-Estrada. They delivered a marvelous, highly enjoyable, and imposing performance that was well-appreciated by all in the audience.
Houston Symphony. About Us. 2016. https://www.houstonsymphony.org. Accessed 19 September 2016.
Mangum, John. "Der Rosenkavalier Suite." 2016. Accessed 19 September 2016.
Smith, Tim. Prokofiev's "Peter & the Wolf." 26 March 2008. Accessed 19 September 2016.
Steinberg, Michael. "Rossini: Overture to La Gazza Ladra." 2016. https://www.sfsymphony.org/Watch-Listen-Learn/Read-Program-Notes/Program-Notes/ROSSINI-Overture-to-La-gazza-ladra.aspx. Accessed 19 September 2016.
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