One Drummer, Four Arms?! Hear a Limb-Defying Performance by the Symphony This Weekend

Andrew Bogard
One Drummer, Four Arms?! Hear a Limb-Defying Performance by the Symphony This Weekend

Composer Jennifer Higdon

THIS WEEKEND, THE Houston Symphony will premier composer Jennifer Higdon’s Duo Duel for Two Percussionists and Orchestra, a work commissioned by the symphony, featuring percussionists Matthew Strauss and Svet Stoyanov. Robert Spano conducts.

After a year-long, pandemic-related delay, Strauss is more than ready to perform this new and thoroughly challenging piece by the Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning composer in which, ideally, the music will sound like it’s being played by one percussionist with four arms.

“Jennifer said, ‘Don’t underestimate it. The parts look easier than they are.’” says Strauss. “She was right!”

The percussion instrumentation required for the piece includes marimba, vibraphone, crotales and two sets of timpani. In performance, Strauss and Stoyanov will be positioned between Spano and the orchestra, in order to ensure clear and constant communication with the conductor as they navigate rhythmic complexities of Higdon’s score. The two have also choreographed their movements for moments when they play the same instrument at the same time, executing parts that are within one note of the other.

“This particular composition is very rich in a lot of different colors,” says Strauss. “There’s a wide range of musical character, from very virtuosic, fast, choppy playing, to very beautiful sounds throughout the orchestra and solo parts.”

The fact that Houston Symphony continues to commission and program new music is laudable, but were it not for the positive feedback from its subscribers, chances are we’d be stuck listening to the same old symphonies season after season.

“The audience is very receptive,” says Strauss, who grew up listening to classical repertoire as well as rock, jazz and Latin American music. “I think it’s extremely important for arts organizations to constantly play new works and commission new pieces.”

Along with the Higdon premiere, the Mother’s Day weekend program includes Rainbow Body by Christopher Theofanidis, a work commissioned and premiered by the symphony back in April 2000, and Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3, which includes fragments of Copland’s majestic Fanfare for the Common Man.

Art + Entertainment
Thrive & Inspire: Kathy Anderson and Eklektik Team Happy ‘When Clients Are Happy’

Kathy Anderson, Eklektik Interiors Owner and Principal Designer, & the Eklektik team

WHAT WAS THE highlight of 2022 at your business? Winning Best of Show at the 2022 ASID Ruby Awards was very exciting. It was an honor to be recognized and supported by amazing industry partners and friends.

Keep Reading Show less

The lobby of The Thompson in Austin

AUSTIN’S HIP, TWO-YEAR-OLD Thompson hotel is offering a festive and oh-so-cool way to celebrate the holidays with their 12 Days of Thompson. Held at the design-y hotel, each weekend features jolly events to countdown to New Years.

Keep Reading Show less
People + Places

Gold high-low tulle mini dress, $698, by Chloe Dao, with diamond-and-pearl necklace, diamond earrings, diamond-flower bracelet, and diamond rings, all vintage Buccellati, and Macri cuff bracelets, from $32,000, by Buccellati, all at Tenenbaum Jewelers.

IN THE WARM glow of the holidays, festive frocks, elegant resort looks and baubles from Houston’s finest jewelers take on a regal new light.

Keep Reading Show less
Style