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A Seemingly Impossible Beginning to a Glorious Finale
By: Aurelie Desmarais
Senior Director, Artistic Planning
Houston Symphony
When the calm of a beautiful morning was shattered on September 11, 2001, it seemed that all normal activity would cease. It was impossible to imagine that regular life would, or could, continue. Yet in the aftermath of this history-altering day, the instinct to move forward prevailed.
The Opening Night concert and post-concert dinner was a balm to all. The collective experience of sharing that concert reminded everyone in attendance of the power of music to soothe, to heal, and to inspire optimism for the future. From the opening moments of that first concert, through a remarkable twelve year tenure, Hans will conclude his time as Music Director with two performances of the Mahler Resurrection Symphony on May 17 and 18, 2013. Resurrection is music that speaks to the soul about the human journey–full of joy, tribulation, longing and the quest for redemption. Hans will close his tenure, as he opened it, on a note of hope for the future.
Senior Director, Artistic Planning
Houston Symphony
Photo credit: Bruce Bennett
Obstacles, though seemingly trivial in the face of such tragedy, did abound. The first concert for Hans Graf as Music Director of the Houston Symphony took place on September 15, 2001, just 4 days after the terrorist attacks. All air traffic was grounded and it seemed that there would be no way to get Hans from Calgary to Houston in time for the Opening Night concert, let alone the rehearsals that preceded it.
Through creativity, persistence and lots of phone calls made by an industrious intern, we were able to locate a private plane that had been en route to Calgary, but was grounded at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. Once air traffic was cleared to start again on September 13th, the first priority was given to flights that had been in progress. The private plane resumed its journey up to Calgary and, for its return trip, Margarita and Hans Graf were the passengers. At around midnight on September 13th, I received a call from Hans to assure me that he was safely on the ground in Houston!
Photo credit: Bruce Bennett
-Aurelie Desmarais
In the video below, Aurelie Desmarais, Senior Director of Artistic Planning, speaks about Maestro Graf’s final month of concerts as Houston Symphony Music Director:
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Known for his wide range of repertoire and creative programming, distinguished Austrian conductor Hans Graf is the Houston Symphony’s 15th Music Director and is its longest serving music director. As one of today’s most highly respected musicians, he is a frequent guest with all of the major North American orchestras, and regularly conducts in the foremost concert halls of Europe, Japan and Australia.
Maestro Hans Graf will conduct the Houston Symphony in his final concerts as Music Director on May 17 and 18. Ending his 12-year tenure, Graf will celebrate with the orchestra, staff and patrons in a grand performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection.
Click here for more information and tickets.
The preceding weekend, May 9, 11 and 12, 2013, Maestro Graf will lead the orchestra in it’s final classical subscription concert of the season, featuring Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with guest pianist Janina Fialkowska, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica.
Click here for more information and tickets.
Watch a video tribute to Maestro Graf, which is being shown before each of the concerts during his final month as Houston Symphony Music Director:
Posted in 2012-2013 season, Classical, Conductors and Musicians, Houston Symphony Chorus, Specials, Staff
Tagged A Graf Farewell, Aurelie Desmarais, classical, classical music, conductor, Hans Graf, Houston, houston symphony, houston symphony chorus, houston symphony orchestra, Janina Fialkowski, Jones Hall, Maestro, Maestro Graf, mahler, mozart, music, musicians, orchestra, Piano
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Blog Series: In Vienna w/ KTRK TV & Andrés Orozco-Estrada — Post #3
Mark Hanson, Houston Symphony’s Executive Director/CEO, reports from Vienna:
[To read the other blogs in this series, click here].
Following a very full first day in Vienna described in my first two postings, we have had the opportunity to explore Vienna’s rich musical history for a series of TV stories that will spotlight both the Houston Symphony’s upcoming centennial celebration and the appointment of Andrés Orozco-Estrada as our 16th music director. Wanting to better understand what had drawn Andrés to Vienna in the first place, the TV crew toured Vienna on Saturday afternoon and captured footage of prominent monuments that celebrate Vienna’s inspired past. Crowds flocked with us to Mozart’s statue in the Imperial Palace gardens, but we happened to be the only visitors to one of Beethoven’s former apartments across the street from the University of Vienna. Outside of the city, we paid homage to a few members of the pantheon of music – Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Schoenberg – at their monumental tombstones in Vienna’s Central Cemetery.
Sunday brought beautiful sunshine and the sounds of the Vienna City Marathon to this music capital. While the TV crew attempted to climb the Stephansdom’s spire for an elevated view of the city, I snapped a picture of this landmark from street level. If you look closely at the bottom right corner of my photo, you will see one of many Tonkünstler Orchester posters displayed throughout the city that feature their current music director (and our incoming maestro!). Back inside the Musikverein, I enjoyed an afternoon Tonkünstler concert and marveled at Andrés’ endurance and spontaneity. Several dynamics and phrases were noticeably different from Friday night’s performance and the concert had the feeling of a world premiere. Quite a stunning feat given that the program, as I’ve mentioned previously, was all-Mozart. 
[To read the other blogs in this series, click here].
As I await my flight home to Houston, I am fondly recalling highlights from the final 48 hours of my visit to Vienna with a crew from our official television partner KTRK, Channel 13.
Mozart statue in the Imperial Palace gardens
Johann Strauss statue in Stadtpark
Earlier on Saturday, the TV crew returned to the Musikverein to see Andrés rehearsing that evening’s Tonkünstler Orchester program. Channel 13′s Gina Gaston helped Andrés cope with his strenuous schedule (two different all-Mozart programs rehearsed and performed over a 36-hour period) by sharing some yoga stretches before continuing their interview from the day before. Following the driving tour, I enjoyed Verdi’s opera Don Carlos at the Staatoper while remembering Andrés’ moving story, told to Gina earlier that day, about his first concert experiences in Vienna at the age of 18. One can’t help but be inspired by Vienna’s musical history and everyday performances in its many stunning performance halls.
Marathon Route
Stephansdom
On our walk to Stadtpark to meet up with Andrés wife, Julia, and daughter, Laura, following the concert, Gina Gaston asked us about the Houston Symphony’s role as a cultural ambassador and about the virtues and pitfalls associated with outdoor parks concerts. While strolling through Stadtpark, Andrés and Julia shared stories with Gina about their courtship and busy life together in Vienna. Both demonstrated command of Houston’s landmarks and traditions by reciting sections of the children’s book “Goodnight Houston”, a gift brought over during a prior trip.
With the television cameras and lights turned off for the weekend, Andrés expressed his thanks to our Channel 13 friends and rolled up his sleeves for an evening of fruitful discussions with me about the Houston Symphony’s exciting future, a future that owes a debt of gratitude to Vienna’s prominent role in the development of classical music and seeks to build upon Vienna’s remarkable history of cultural achievement.
[To read the other blogs in this series, click here].
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- Andrés, wife Julia and daughter Laura
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- Baby Laura Orozco-Estrada!
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- Beethoven statue across the street from the Konzerthaus
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- One of Beethoven’s many apartment dwellings
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- Beethoven’s tombstone
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- Schubert’s tombstone
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- Brahms’s tombstone
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- Street festival outside of City Hall
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- Musikverein
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- Staatoper
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- Andrés and Gina doing Yoga stretches before Saturday’s interview at the Musikverein
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- Gina Gaston interviews Andrés at the Musikverein
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- Final goodbyes overlooking the Konzerthaus
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- One of many posters throughout the city promoting the upcoming Tonkünstler season
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- Mozart statue in the Imperial Palace gardens
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- Johann Strauss statue in Stadtpark
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- Marathon Route
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- Stephansdom
Posted in 2013 Vienna Trip, Classical, Conductors and Musicians, Staff
Tagged 2013 Vienna Trip, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, classical, classical music, Houston, houston symphony, houston symphony orchestra, Mark Hanson, music, Music Director, Music Director Designate, musicians, orchestra
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Blog Series: In Vienna w/ KTRK TV & Andrés Orozco-Estrada — Post #2
Mark Hanson, Houston Symphony’s Executive Director/CEO, continues his report from Vienna, following an evening concert led by our new Music Director Designate: [To read the other blogs in this series, click here].
The all-Mozart program was beautiful and gave us a real sense of what to expect when Andrés conducts the Jupiter Symphony with the Houston Symphony in January, 2014 at Jones Hall. There was a palpable sense of excitement throughout both the sold-out audience and the orchestra itself. The Tonkünstler Orchester Niederösterrich played with precision and emotion while the two woodwind soloists demonstrated tremendous command of their respective instruments in two Mozart concertos.
Following the concert, KTRK Channel 13′s Gina Gaston interviewed soloist François Leleux and several members of the Tonkünstler backstage and captured their fondness for and admiration of Andrés on video. Before the concert, I engaged in a round of shuttle diplomacy as we endeavored to modify our concert videotaping plan to abide by some last minute requests from Musikverein officials. As you can see from the group photo with Andrés at the end of the evening, everything fell into place and all of us had big smiles on our faces following an inspirational concert in Vienna. We are back to the Musikverein in the morning to capture video of Andrés conducting a dress rehearsal for tomorrow night’s different all-Mozart program. In between the rehearsal and concert, the Channel 13 crew and I will tour Vienna with a guide to learn about Vienna’s prominent role in the development of classical music. My only regret this evening is that this Vienna trip is preventing me from experiencing Houston Symphony performances of Debussy’s La Mer under the direction of music director Hans Graf. Reports from last night’s concert indicate that we’ve missed another memorable performance in Hans’ final two months as our music director. [To read the other blogs in this series, click here].
Wow! We have just returned to our hotel following an exciting and memorable Tonkünstler Orchester Niederösterrich concert at the Musikverein under the direction of our incoming music director Andrés Orozco-Estrada.
Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Tonkünstler Orchester following tonight’s concert at the Musikverein
KTRK Channel 13′s Gina Gaston interviewing principal flute Walter Schober
Tonight’s Tonkünstler Orchester Niederösterrich concert program
Andrés Orozco-Estrada with KTRK’s Kim Nordt-Jackson, Andre Dorsey, Raul Carmona and Gina Gaston
Andrés Orozco-Estrada with Mark Hanson
Spanish Masters- Pablo Sainz-Villegas, guitar
Check out our latest video for our upcoming Spanish Masters concerts featuring guitarist Pablo Sainz-Villegas:
Tickets start at $29
Pablo Sainz-Villegas performs Rodgrigo’s Fantasia para un gentilhombre (Fantasia for a Nobleman) with the Houston Symphony as part of the Spanish Masters concert on April 5, 6 and 7, 2013. This video is an example of Pablo Sainz-Villegas’s artistry, playing a different piece by Rodrigo, Concierto de Aranjuez.
Performance dates:
Friday, April 05, 2013 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, April 06, 2013 at 8:00 PM
Sunday, April 07, 2013 at 2:30 PM
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
Program:
Haydn: Symphony No. 37
Ginastera: Variaciones concertantes
Rodrigo: Fantasia for a Nobleman – for Guitar and Orchestra
Falla: Suite No. 2 from The Three-Cornered
Artists:
Carlos Kalmar, conductor
Pablo Sainz-Villegas, guitar
West Side Story- Film with Live Orchestra
By: Gary Lindsay
During the original production, even though the first audio elements were being assembled for a 4-Track release, by the end of production in 1961, it was deemed worthy of a 6-Track release, and was premiered in that form, in 70mm 6-Track (magnetic), and won Academy Awards for Best Sound; and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.
Plus, there was no original written music score for the orchestra to play, so it had to be reconstructed from a search of various archival sources, led by composer and conductor David Newman, an expert in such reconstructions (background article), and son of famous composer, arranger and conductor Alfred Newman, best known for being the 20-year (1940-60) Music Director for 20th Century-Fox Studios.
Steven Reineke’s boundless enthusiasm and exceptional artistry have made him one of the nation’s most sought-after pops conductors, composers and arrangers. Reineke is the newly appointed Principal Pops Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He previously held posts as Principal Pops Conductor of the Long Beach and Modesto Symphony Orchestras and Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
This article was shared courtesy of Gary Lindsay, author. Read the full article and other articles by Gary Lindsay here.
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of this iconic film and winner of ten Academy Awards®, including Best Picture. The Houston Symphony plays Leonard Bernstein’s electrifying score and memorable songs with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim live, while the newly re-mastered film is shown in glorious high definition on the big screen with the original vocals and dialog intact. This classic romantic tragedy, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins and one of the greatest achievements in the history of movie musicals, features Robbins’ breath-taking choreography and a screenplay by Ernest Lehman based on the masterful book by Arthur Laurents.
West Side Story © 1961 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All rights reserved.
© A.M.P.A.S. 
The Film Production Backstory:
In 2009, MGM, who currently owns the rights to the United Artists film West Side Story, decided to do a tribute to the history of this groundbreaking cinematic musical, which won 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, by restoring the film into a new 70mm, 6-Track version, plus releasing a special digitally remastered HD Blu-ray edition in 2011, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of its premiere, on December 13th, 1961.
In addition, in 2010, the Hollywood Bowl along with the LA Philharmonic and The Bernstein Office, decided to also do a special tribute 50th Anniversary “Re-Premiere” in the summer of 2011, by projecting the HD version of the newly restored 70mm version of the movie which was being readied at the Hollywood Bowl, accompanied by the live orchestra performance of the LA Philharmonic.
Photographed in Super Panavision 70 (with spherical lenses to create a final aspect ratio of 2.20:1 on a 65mm negative), it is such a famous and well respected movie that there were always sufficient visual elements extant to restore a 70mm version, and to master the visual part of the film to HD. With a modern twist. The existing film elements were used to create a new 65mm interpositive, which was then scanned in 4K, and then corrected and restored digitally, then the 70mm 5.1 projection prints were produced in the current digital-to-film laser fashion.
The problem was the soundtrack.
West Side Story © 1961 MGM. All Rights Reserved.
Then it was subsequently released in 35mm 4-Track (magnetic), and then finally in 35mm Mono (optical). Due to historical circumstances, the only complete audio track that existed 50 years later, was Mono.
For the 70mm and HD Blu-ray versions, 70mm & 35mm prints and mag reels were collected from around the world, then digitally cleaned up and combined, to be able to produce the original 6-Track soundtrack, with new 5.1 digital clarity. But for the version to be performed with live orchestra, it was a bit more difficult. Even though MGM had been able to track down enough print elements to be able to digitally restore, and construct a clean 5.1 soundtrack for the 70mm exhibition and Blu-ray releases, there were no original mixing stems where all the elements were still separate. The singing voices, dialogue, music, sound effects and foley had all been mixed already and only existed as a composite soundtrack.
In modern or recent films where all the elements are still available, with discrete tracks and mixing stems, it is very easy to record a separate dialogue track for foreign versions, leaving the music and effects intact, etc. But for West Side Story the desire was to leave the singing, dialogue and effects intact, and instead replace the music with a symphonic score, performed live by an orchestra. But since it was all combined as essentially a Composite Mono Track, something had to be done to separate the music from the dialogue and effects.
So MGM turned to Chace Audio by Deluxe (background article) to employ “source separation technology” by Audionamix of Paris, which utilizes Vocal Isolation, Music Dissociation and Dialogue Isolation, to produce an original dialogue and effects composite with a cappella singing to project during the live performance by the LA Philharmonic.
West Side Story © 1961 MGM. All Rights Reserved.
West Side Story was in fact successfully “Re-Premiered” to great acclaim on July 8 & 9, 2011, at the Hollywood Bowl, accompanied by the LA Philharmonic, followed by another performance on September 7 & 8, 2011, at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, again with David Newman, this time conducting the live orchestra to West Side Story with Leonard Bernstein’s home symphony when he wrote the score, the New York Philharmonic. A decidedly symbolic 50th Anniversary homecoming for the great movie that was in fact a symbiotic melding of Hollywood and New York talents, and mystiques.
The 50th Anniversary Blu-ray release has been reviewed very highly, and gratefully accepted by the film-loving public.
The good thing about the Live Orchestra version that was laboriously created by all concerned, is that it is now available as a licensable production (info at IMG Artists) that can be performed by any symphonic organization with the proper resources, facilities, and preparation.
Since its first performances at the Hollywood Bowl, and in New York City, it has been performed in Chicago, the Royal Albert Hall in London, by many other orchestras around the world, and now by the Houston Symphony, on March 22, 23, 24, 2013.
West Side Story © 1961 MGM. All Rights Reserved.
Houston Symphony Press Release:
SYMPHONY BRINGS THE BIG SCREEN TO LIFE IN WEST SIDE STORY CONCERTS
Guest conductor Steven Reineke to conduct live orchestra alongside the film
HOUSTON (March 7, 2013) – On March 22, 23 and 24, the Houston Symphony, under the direction of guest conductor Steven Reineke, will entertain audiences with a live performance of Leonard Bernstein’s electrifying score of West Side Story while the newly re-mastered film is shown in glorious high-definition on the big screen. With the original vocals and dialog intact, the Symphony will bring the film’s beloved music to life by performing live alongside the film. In contrast with pit orchestras heard on Broadway, the Symphony’s performance will feature the full 87-piece orchestra playing the entire musical score of the iconic film, West Side Story, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012. Winner of 10 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture, this classic romantic tragedy is one of the greatest achievements in the history of movie musicals.
Houston Symphony Cynthia Woods Mitchell POPS at Jones Hall Series
Jones Hall
615 Louisiana St.
Houston, TX 77002
Friday, March 22, 2013, 8:00pm
Saturday, March 23, 2013, 8:00pm
Sunday, March 24, 2013, 7:30pm
West Side Story
Steven Reineke, conductor
Tickets from: $25
About Steven Reineke
Steven Reineke
Reineke is a frequent guest conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra. In the past year, he’s been on the podium with the Boston Pops, Chicago Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra. As the creator of more than one hundred orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Reineke’s work has been performed worldwide and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. His symphonic works, Celebration Fanfare, Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Casey at the Bat are performed frequently in North America, including performances by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic.
A native of Ohio, Reineke is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, where he earned two bachelor of music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition. He currently resides in New York City.
Gary Lindsay
Gary Lindsay is an award-winning Filmmaker, and IT Consultant, who has lived and worked all over the United States. He is proficient in all forms of still, film, video, and digital technology. He is a graduate of the San Francisco State University Film School, with a specialization in Documentary Filmmaking; and the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, with an emphasis on Feature Filmmaking and Film Industry Studio Practices.
Contact Gary Lindsay at: garylindsay.examiner@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Examiner.com.GaryLindsay
Twitter: @GaryLindsayExam
YouTube: GaryLindsayExaminer
