Houston Symphony announces 2017-18 season featuring innovative 'Rite of Spring'

The Houston Symphony with music director Andres Orozco-Estrada is shown during performance at Miller Outdoor Theatre Friday, Sept. 12, 2014, in Houston. The Houston Symphony with music director Andres Orozco-Estrada is shown during performance at Miller Outdoor Theatre Friday, Sept. 12, 2014, in Houston. Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Houston Symphony announces 2017-18 season featuring innovative 'Rite of Spring' 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

The Houston Symphony Orchestra’s 2017-18 season will include a genre-pushing multimedia presentation of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” often considered the most important composition of the 20th century, featuring interactive design by Ars Electronica Futurelab and choreography by Klaus Obermaier.

The symphony describes the show as a “bold, multisensory stereoscopic dance and music project, never seen in an American concert hall” that is part of Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada’s commitment to integrating technology and media in the concert hall. The concert will also include a performance by pianist Emanuel Ax.

It’s one of several concerts announced as part of the new season that blends beloved classic compositions with newer artists, often from outside the symphonic world.

A special concert this June will have the symphony play alongside the Houston-born band The Suffers, who recently appeared on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.”

Other highlights include the announcement of a new Composer-in-Residence, Peruvian-born composer Jimmy López; an opening night performance with Grammy Award-winning mezzo soprano Susan Graham; a centennial celebration of the late composer Leonard Bernstein featuring violinist Hilary Hahn; and the first full season that Steven Reineke (New York Pops, National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center) is the symphony’s principal POPS conductor.

As part of López’s appointment, he will premiere a newly commissioned violin concerto, which he is composing for Spanish violinist Leticia Moreno and the Houston Symphony.

The new season sees the continuation of the Houston Symphony’s cycle of all four piano concertos by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Pianist Denis Kozhukhin will perform the Rachmaninoff piano concerto as well as “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.”

Grammy award-winning trumpet player Chris Botti returns to the Houston Symphony stage in March 2018 as part of the POPS season.

As part of the symphony’s special guest artist program, NPR veteran Garrison Keillor comes to Houston Sept. 25.

Guest conductors for the 2017-18 season will include Matthew Halls, Ludovic Morlot, Fabien Gabel, Andrey Boreyko and Juraj Valčuha.

For the full season schedule and information on tickets and subscriptions, visit www.houstonsymphony.org or call (713) 224-7575.