Two Orchestral Treats

Houston Symphony Orchestra have two treats in store for audiences, with a performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's challenging Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Alexander von Zemlinsky's lush The Mermaid, based on the famous fairytale The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. Conducted by Juraj Valcuha and featuring piano soloist Kirill Gerstein, sit back and enjoy an evening with the orchestra!

From Liszt to Lloyd Webber, Paganini has inspired them all, but none so well as Rachmaninoff who met the violin master's complicated wizardry head-on with some piano mastery of his own. Famed for its difficulty and mistakable melody, Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody and specifically its 18th movement is one of the most popular works of the 20th century, appearing everywhere from The Good Wife to Groundhog Day.

Zemlinsky's The Mermaid is a symphonic poem based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale of transformation and unrequited love. Completed in 1903, it captures the mermaid's yearning and heartbreak through lush Romanticism and remains one of Zemlinsky's most celebrated compositions.