Hans Graf, Music Director and Conductor
Known for his wide range of repertoire and creative programming, Hans Graf—the Houston Symphony’s 15th Music Director—is one of today’s most highly respected musicians. He began his tenure in Houston on Opening Night of the 2001–2002 season.
Mr. Graf is a frequent guest with the major North American orchestras. His engagements have included appearances with the Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras; the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics; the San Francisco, Saint Louis, Cincinnati, Atlanta, and National symphonies; and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others. Over the past decade, he has developed a close relationship with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and appears regularly with the orchestra during its subscription season and at the Tanglewood Music Festival. He made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Houston Symphony in January 2006, and returned in March 2007, leading the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
Internationally, Mr. Graf conducts in the foremost concert halls of Europe, Japan, and Australia, and has appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He has participated in such prestigious European festivals as the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bregenz, Aix-en-Provence, Orange, and Savonlinna in Finland. He has appeared at the Salzburg Festival for 12 consecutive seasons.
An experienced opera conductor, Mr. Graf first conducted the Vienna State Opera in 1981 and has since led productions in Berlin, Munich, Paris, and Rome, including several world premieres. Recent engagements include Parsifal at Oper Zürich and Boris Godunov at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg.
Mr. Graf and the Houston Symphony have recorded Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony and Berg’s Three Pieces from the Lyric Suite—released by Naxos in May 2009—and a disc of works by Bartók and Stravinsky, recorded for Koch International Classics. Other recordings featuring Mr. Graf can be found on the EMI, Orfeo, CBC, Erato, Capriccio, JVC, and BMG Arte Nova labels. His discography includes the works of Dutilleux, the complete symphonies of Mozart and Schubert, and the premiere recording of Zemlinsky’s opera Es war einmal.
Born in 1949 near Linz, Austria, Mr. Graf studied violin and piano as a child. He earned diplomas in piano and conducting from the Musikhochschule in Graz and continued his studies with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache, and Arvid Jansons. His international career was launched in 1979 when he was awarded first prize in the Karl Böhm Competition. He has served as music director of the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine.
In 2002, Mr. Graf was awarded the Chevalier de l’ordre de la Légion d’honneur by the French government for championing French music around the world and, in 2007, the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria. He and his wife, Margarita, have homes in Salzburg and Houston. Their daughter, Anna, lives in Vienna.
Houston Symphony
The Houston Symphony has played a central role in Houston’s cultural and civic life for 96 years. Founded in 1913, the Houston Symphony is one of America’s oldest performing arts organizations, with a distinguished musical history. Over the years, the orchestra has grown and matured under the direction of distinguished leaders such as Ernst Hoffmann (1936 to 1947), Efrem Kurtz (1948 to 1954), Ferenc Fricsay (1954), Leopold Stokowski (1955 to 1961), Sir John Barbirolli (1961 to 1967), André Previn (1967 to 1969), Lawrence Foster (1971 to 1978), Sergiu Comissiona (1979 to 1988), and Christoph Eschenbach (1988 to 1999). Hans Graf, who took the podium in September 2001, is the Houston Symphony’s 15th music director.
The orchestra came of age in the 1940s, when maestros Hoffmann and Kurtz began hiring highly talented professional musicians, many of whom remained with the orchestra for more than 30 years. Leopold Stokowski brought the symphony international recognition by commissioning new works and making recordings, and during Sir John Barbirolli’s tenure, the Houston Symphony flowered under the influence of his lush, Romantic style. The orchestra moved into Jones Hall, its current home, in 1966; in 1971, the symphony signed its first 52-week contract with the musicians. Today, the Houston Symphony is widely acclaimed as one of the top orchestras in the world.
Each year, the Houston Symphony performs approximately 170 concerts for more than 350,000 Houstonians. The season includes the Fidelity Investments Classical Series; the six-concert classical Shell Favorite Masters, Great Performers, and TOTAL Gold Classics series; the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pops at Jones Hall series; Weatherford Family Concerts; holiday concerts; the Chevron Fiesta Sinfónica Familiar and the Houston Chronicle Dollar Concert; a summer series at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion; and KPRC Local 2 Summer Symphony Nights at Miller Outdoor Theatre, where the orchestra has performed for more than 60 years. The season also includes six SoundPlusVision concerts, underwritten by the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation, and the JPMorgan Chase Summer in the City series.
Education and outreach are vital to the orchestra: 40,000 students from public, private, parochial, and home schools attend David Dewhurst Symphony Explorer and Macy’s Symphony Detective concerts. Every summer the orchestra tours the region with free family Sounds Like Fun! concerts underwritten by the Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, reaching 13,000 Houstonians. The Houston Symphony honors educators each year at the Spec’s Charitable Foundation Salute to Educators Concert. Educational partners include the Houston Independent School District and five other area school districts, as well as many private schools.
The Houston Symphony’s community engagement program, GDF SUEZ Community Connections, brings musicians into the Houston community as soloists, master class teachers, and ensemble performers. Lectures, recitals, regional tours, and student competitions are also part of the Houston Symphony’s commitment to community service. Each year, symphony musicians educate and entertain more than 22,000 area residents in schools, hospitals, retirement homes, shelters, and community centers. Through programs like Fidelity Futurestage and Deloitte Dynamics, the Houston Symphony, in partnership with business corporations, provides music education opportunities and instruments to deserving band and orchestra students at local high schools.
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