Hans Graf and the Houston Symphony Pt. 1

Hans Graf has been music director of the Houston Symphony since 2001. He will step down at the end of next season. Graf was born in Graz, Austria and he has recorded all the Mozart symphonies and piano concerti with the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg.

Graf also has a Canadian connection. He was music director of the Calgary Philharmonic from 1995 until 2003.

In this video Maestro Graf talks about the music of Shostakovich. On June 8 and 9 he will be leading the Houston Symphony in concerts in Moscow as part of the Festival of the World's Symphony Orchestras. One program features the Symphony No. 11 by Shostakovich along with the Dr. Atomic Symphony by John Adams. The other Moscow concert includes Mozart's Symphony No. 38 "Prague" and Bruckner's Symphony No. 9.

Next week we'll feature Pt. 2 of my recent conversation with Hans Graf in which he talks about his successes and disappointments in Houston, and discusses details of next season.

Paul E. Robinson