by Eric James
Daily Cougar StaffThe Houston Symphony will welcome guest conductor Hans Vonk, of the Saint Louis Symphony, as they present Beethoven's most popular piano concert, Emperor.
Maestro Vonk will be joined by the young Argentine pianist Bruno-Leonardo Gelber. Gelber's recording of Beethoven's sonatas was named as one of the best recordings of 1989 by The New York Times. He has also won the prestigious Prix de L'Academia de Paris.
The Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor, will be preceded by Weber's "Overture to Euryanthe." The Symphony will also greet the new season by concluding the concert with Schumann's Symphony No. 1, Spring.
The concert will act as the perfect transition between the Houston Symphony's concert of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons last week and its performance of music from Beethoven's only ballet, Prometheus, on April 27.
Beethoven's Emperor concerto will be performed at 8 p.m. Saturday and Monday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana. Call 227-3974 for tickets.
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The University of Houston Moores School of Music will present flutist Sydney Carlson, pianist Timothy Hester and mezzo-soprano Katherine Ciesinski in a chamber recital on Monday at 8 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 5200 Fannin at Southmore.
The program, which is free to the public, will feature works by Reger, Koechlin, Dohnanyi, Lieberman and Crumb. Call 526-5200 for more information.