Andres Orozco-Estrada to Conduct Houston Symphony's Beethoven Performances, 11/28-30

After the Thanksgiving dinner dishes are cleared, show gratitude for Beethoven's First and Fourth Symphonies with family and friends on November 28-30 as Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducts the Houston Symphony, featuring principal cellist Brinton Averil Smith.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 was dedicated to an early patron of the composer, Baron Gottfried van Swieten. The complicated composer's symphonies combine his style with nods to Mozart and Haydn's Classical tradition. Principal Cellist Brinton Averil Smith will perform Schumann's Cello Concerto, described by legendary cellist Pablo Casals as "sublime music from beginning to end." This sunny piece, which is closer to the composer's beloved First symphony, shows Beethoven's growth as a composer even though it's often overshadowed by Beethoven's more dynamic Third and Fifth symphonies.

Audience members interested in learning more about the background of the music are invited to attend the free Prelude pre-concert discussion led by Carlos Andrés Botero, 45-minutes prior to the start of the concert.

Beethoven 1 & 4Friday, November 28, 2014, 8:00pmSaturday, November 29, 2014, 8:00pmSunday, November 30, 2014, 2:30pmAndrés Orozco-Estrada, conductorBrinton Averil Smith, celloBeethoven: Symphony No. 1Schumann: Cello ConcertoBeethoven: Symphony No. 4Tickets from $25
Jones Hall615 Louisiana St. Houston, TX 77002

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, born in Colombia and trained in Vienna, is one of the most sought after conductors of his generation. He begins his tenure as the Houston Symphony's 15th Music Director in September 2014.

In addition to his appointment in Houston, Andrés will take up the position of chief conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra during the 2014-15 season and will become principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra beginning in the 2015-16 season. Since the 2009-10 season, he has held the post of music director of the Tonkünstler Orchestra Niederösterreich, one of the most important institutions of traditional Austrian music culture, which holds subscription series at the Vienna Musikverein and is orchestra-in-residence at the Grafenegg Festival. He will conclude his tenure with the Tonkünstler Orchestra in summer 2015. From 2009 through 2013, Andrés was also principal conductor at the Basque National Orchestra in San Sebastián, Spain.

As a guest conductor, he regularly works with the world's most prominent orchestras, including the Vienna, Munich, London, Rotterdam, Royal Stockholm and La Scala Philharmonic Orchestras; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Mahler Chamber Orchestra; London, City of Birmingham and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestras; the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome; Radio Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg; the Orchestre National de France; Verbier Festival Orchestra; and the St. Louis and Oregon Symphonies.

Following his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 2010, Andrés was hailed "a brilliant stand-in" for Esa-Pekka Salonen and celebrated as an "eminent talent" by Austria's Wiener Zeitung and Die Presse. In November 2012, Andrés stepped in once again with just one rehearsal's notice to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic in the Musikverein for Riccardo Muti and was praised as a "stand-in worth his weight in gold" and "an inspired master of communication" by the Viennese daily newspapers Kurier and Der Standard. In the 2015-16 season, he will make his official debut with the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra on its subscription season. Born in 1977 in Medellín (Colombia), Andrés began his musical studies on the violin and had his first conducting lessons at age 15. In 1997, he moved to Vienna where he joined the conducting class of Uroš Lajovic, a pupil of the legendary Hans Swarowsky, at the renowned Vienna Music Academy and completed his degree with distinction by conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Vienna Musikverein. The emphasis of his artistic work lies in the Romantic repertoire and Viennese classics. At the same time, Andrés shows a keen interest in contemporary music and regularly performs premieres of Austrian composers as well as compositions of Spanish and South American origin. He currently lives in Vienna.

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