Ima Hogg Competition Silver Medalist Vladimir Khomyakov Performs with Houston Symphony Tonight

Tonight, June 29, pianist Vladimir Khomyakov, silver medal winner of the 2013 Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Competition, will perform Prokofiev's famous Piano Concerto No. 3 alongside the Houston Symphony as part of the ExxonMobil Summer Symphony Nights Series at Miller Outdoor Theatre. The concert will also feature the popular Overture to Verdi's La Forza del Destino and Brahms' Symphony No. 1. Making his Houston Symphony debut, young conductor Aziz Shokhakimov has received international acclaim as a talented young conductor, leading European orchestras and earning top honors at festivals and competitions.

Following the overture, Khomyakov will entertain audiences with the colorful sounds and driving rhythms of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3. One of Prokofiev's most popular works, the concerto was premiered in the United States in 1921 and features percussive and active orchestration balanced by lyrical and attractive melodies, representative of Prokofiev's distinctive style.

After a short intermission, the concert will feature Brahms' Symphony No. 1. Composed over a 21 year period, due largely in part to Brahms' fear of not living up to standards that had been set by Beethoven's famous and well-loved Symphonies, the work was completed in 1876. Because of his attention to structural integrity throughout his music, Brahms is hailed as one of the greatest masters of musical form and certainly lived up to the reputation established by Beethoven.

Audience members are encouraged to participate in the Symphony's photo contest, OH SNAP!, in which concert-goers upload their favorite snapshots from any Summer Symphony Nights concert to the Symphony's Flickr page. The themes upon which the winners will be selected include the following categories: Performance, Family/Friends, Fireworks, Venue, Audience and Miscellaneous. Winners of each photo category will receive a pair of ticket vouchers to a future Houston Symphony concert, and their photo will be featured on the Houston Symphony website, e-news and blog. Additionally, the grand prize winner will be given $300. Visit www.houstonsymphony.org/ohsnap for more information.

The Miller Outdoor Theatre is located at 6000 Hermann Park Drive, Houston, TX. The concert is set for tonight, June 29, 2013, 8:30 PM. Free admission.

PROGRAM

Brahms' Symphony No. 1

Aziz Shokhakimov, conductor

Vladimir Khomyakov, piano

Verdi: Overture to La Forza del Destino

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major

Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor

About Aziz Shokhakimov: Remarkable young conductor Aziz Shokhakimov burst on the scene at the age of 21 by astounding audiences in Bamberg, where he was awarded second prize at the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition under the auspices of the Bamberger Symphoniker. Following the competition, Shokhakimov made several triumphant debuts including the Staatskapelle Dresden, Dusseldorf Symphoniker, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna and La Verdi Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia and the Oregon Symphony.

During the 2013-14 season, Shokhakimov will lead Teatro Communale di Bologna in a production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. In addition to numerous re-invitations in following seasons, Maestro Shokhakimov will also conduct the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, as well as the London Philharmonic, Stuttgart and Frankfurt Radio Orchestras.

Recognition came very early for Shokhakimov. Born in 1988 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Shokhakimov entered Uspensky Music School for Gifted Children at the age of 6, where he studied violin, viola and orchestral conducting. At age 13, he made his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan, conducting Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and the Lizst Piano Concerto No. 1. During the following year, Shokhakimov was invited to conduct his first opera, Carmen, at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Uzbekistan. By the age of 18, he held the position of the principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan. Shokhakimov received support from the Vladimir Spivakov International Charitable Foundation and is a recipient of the Nihol Prize from the State of Uzbekistan.

About Vladimir Khomyakov: Vladimir Khomyakov was born in Kirovograd (USSR) into a family of musicians. He began piano studies at age 4 with his mother and performed his first solo recital at Children's Philharmonic Hall in Russia at age 10.

Khomyakov studied at the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory under Alexander Sandler and later received a post-graduate degree from the Moscow State Conservatory in the piano class of Yuri Martynov. In 2012, he finished the prestigious Artist Diploma Program with honors and is currently a DMA candidate at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music studying under pianist Daniel Pollack.

He is a top prize winner of numerous international piano competitions including the St. Petersburg Open Piano Competition, Emil Gilels International Piano Competition (Ukraine), Anton Rubinstein International Piano Competition, ISAM International Piano Competition (Germany), Maria Canals International Piano Competition (Spain), Jose Iturbi International Piano Competition, The Hilton Head International Piano Competition, Susan Torres Piano Competition and BT Ritchie Music Competition (U.S.).

Khomyakov has performed recitals in the major concert halls of the United States, Canada, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Germany, Austria, Holland, Spain, Italy and Sweden. He has published audio and video recordings, and his performances have been broadcast on radio and television in Germany, Russia, South Korea, Canada and the United States.

About the Houston Symphony: During the 2013-14 Season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its 100th year as one of America's leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring and recording activities. The Houston Symphony is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas whose inaugural performance was held at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Continuing a long standing tradition of performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre, the Houston Symphony held its first concert at Miller Memorial Theater on August 21, 1940, and has been entertaining outdoor audiences with free concerts every summer since. Today, with an annual operating budget of $30.4 million, the full-time ensemble of 87 professional musicians is the largest performing arts organization in Houston, presenting more than 280 concerts for 280,000 people, including 84,000 children, annually. For tickets and more information, visit www.houstonsymphony.org or call 713-224-7575.

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