>> News & Events Archive   Emanuel Ax’s Mozart   Friday, January 13, 8 PM   “Ax has the gift of rhapsody.” – THE TIMES, LONDON   Perhaps Mozart’s first truly mature masterpiece, the Jeunehomme piano concerto is marked by virtuosity, operatic interplay and wit. Emanuel Ax, in this his latest return to Houston, inspired concertgoers with his poetic temperament and unsurpassed technique. Hans Graf closed the program with what he describes as a world-class symphony, Shostakovich’s Tenth, known for its power, depth and triumphant finale. The year 2006 marks the centennial anniversary of Shostakovich’s birth. Prelude, sponsored by UBS, began 50 minutes prior to each performance. Emanuel Ax’s Mozart features a piano concerto composed while Mozart was still under the thumb of the Archbishop of Salzburg, while the Shostakovich symphony that follows it was composed despite persecution from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Popular arts lecturer Ira J. Black discussed “Oppression and the Creation of Art.”