Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1543122
november | page 14 | 2010 B y C a t h e r i n e D . a n s p o n . p h o t o g r a p h y J e n n y a n t i l l . Alfred Moran & Sarah Oden Hans Graf poses with his portrait. Houston Symphony orchestrated a classic score — a Mozart Sinfonia Concertante and four timeless Johann Strauss Jr. opuses capped by On the Beautiful Blue Danube — for its Opening Night Gala, aptly titled Vienna Soirée. The theme was an ode to both the night's musical menu and Austrian-born artistic director Hans Graf's decade with the symphony, which was celebrated with pomp, ceremony, an HG 10th Anniversary Season logo and a special portrait unveiling of the maestro conducting The Planets last winter at Carnegie Hall. Other high notes included Beijing- born, Houston-raised violinist Frank Huang's debut as concertmaster, acknowledged with a large-screen video tribute on the stage of Jones Hall, and a rousing rendition of Strauss' Radetzky March as the grand-finale encore. n act two of this elegant eve, 300 graceful guests strolled from Jones Hall to the halls of the Bank of America Center, one of Philip Johnson's signature skyscrapers with its memorable postmodern Dutch-gabled facade. Inside, the soaring space was transformed by designer Darryl Murchison into a Viennese party palace complete with towering candelabra, acres of brocade and profuse blooms. Chairmen Nancy and Robert Peiser (the pair who had the initiative to shake up Opening Night's ritual by going with a new venue) greeted the swans and swells, who buzzed about the evening's romantic Strauss waltzes, then savored a Jackson and Company seated dinner replete with Austrian motifs, from goulash to a suite of Linzer and Sacher tortes. The high- voltage band Toast and Jam, which performed for the chair couple at their wedding, moved the evening musically from the Blue Danube to Blue Bayou. Next came a salute to honorees Barbara (in Lanvin) and Ulyesse LeGrange, who have been integrally involved with every aspect of the Symphony League and Society for the past 25 years (he currently serves as president of the Houston Symphony Endowment Fund). Making beautiful music: last spring's What a Wonderful World! Symphony Gala chairs Kelli Cohen Fein and Martin Fein, she in whispery black lace Chanel (many of this soirée's leading ladies pulled out the lace to recall the fabled days of the Austrian and Austro-Hungarian empires); patroness supreme Beth Madison in opulent jewel-hued Carolina Herrera, with Ralph Burch; Symphony Society chairman Ed Wulfe with wife Lorraine; Society board prez Bobby Tudor with preservationist wife Phoebe, a standout in diaphanous Zac Posen; Margaret Williams, who trained as an opera singer, with Jim Daniel; Betty and Jess Tutor; new Symphony CEO Mark Hanson and his wife, Shepherd School grad Christina (great excitement swirls around Hanson's arrival in Houston, evidenced already in contemporary touches such as this evening's large-screen concertmaster interview); distinguished architect Louis Skidmore, who gave us the dish on the PJ-designed building; Omana and Sam Abraham whose Abraham's Oriental Rugs lent European antique carpets to the decor; underwriting chairmen Viviana and David Denechaud, she a classically trained vocalist; Tara and David Wuthrich; Alton LaDay, who exclaimed, "I loved the Strauss percussion; it brought back being a cymbalist in the marching band," and Houston Arts Alliance's Jonathon Glus; newlyweds Mary Ann Reynolds Wilkins and Robert Wilkins (he's working on a musical about Galveston); Kathi and Bill Rovere; Symphony League Prez Nancy Littlejohn and husband Erik, hosts for the underwriter bash weeks earlier; Helen and Jim Shaffer; adorable Danielle and Josh Batchelor; board member Brian James with new best gal Ryland Holmes; Diane and Harry Gendel heating up the dance floor; gallerists Wade Wilson and Susanna Kise of Wade Wilson Art, she in a vintage 1920s black lace dress that belonged to her Philadelphia society grandmother; April and Tom Lykos; Stacy Soefer; Shepherd School dean Robert Yekovich and wife Michele; Mach family Cora Sue and Harry and Joella and Steve; composer Todd Frazier; Stephanie Jones; Elizabeth and Gary Petersen; and 2009 Opening Night chairs Judy and Scott Nyquist, she to be honored at the 2011 Winter Ball as a Woman of Distinction. What a waltz of philanthropy! Aileen Gordon, Conrad & Dede Weil Christina & Mark Hanson Phoebe Tudor Bobby Tudor Diane Lokey Farb Ceron Liz Zaruba Bob Devlin Elizabeth & Gary Petersen Frank Huang Betty & Jess Tutor Brian James Ryland Holmes Diane & Harry Gendel Louis Skidmore Danielle Ellis Tom & April Lykos Margaret Williams Jim Daniel Chairmen Robert & Nancy Peiser Judy & Scott Nyquist Ralph Burch Beth Madison