Classical

The Earth and the Planets: An HD Odyssey

Music Director–Designate Orozco-Estrada conducts a back-to-back concert of the first two films in the Symphony’s acclaimed HD Odyssey series.The Planets takes us to outer space, with a soundtrack fittingly provided by Holst’s The Planets. The Earth features breathtaking images of our own planet taken by NASA and accompanied by Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra and John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine. 

 Jan 9–12. $20–124. All concerts at Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana St. 713-224-7575. houstonsymphony.org

Tchaikovsky Serenade

One of the defining compositions of the Romantic era in classical music, Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings set new standards for lush, voluptuous musicianship. Filling out the program is Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Violin and Strings. Featuring Jonathan Godfrey on violin and Antoine Plante on the podium.

Jan 11 at 8. $10–65. Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas Ave. 713-227-2787. mercuryhouston.org

Visual Art

Jang Soon Im: War

Young Korean–born artist Jang Soon Im, a recent graduate of the Core Residency Program at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, creates art that melds scenes from historical Korean battles with imagery from South Korean popular culture. His work—which includes paintings, digital collages, sculpture, and video—resembles scenes from primitive video games populated by mildly comical Samurai characters. Each of the warriors is actually a self-portrait of the artist dressed up in historical costume, adding to the wit and humor of the art.

Jan 10–Feb 8. Tue–Fri 10:30–6; Sat 10:30–5. Free. Anya Tish Gallery, 4411 Montrose Blvd. 713-524-2299. anyatishgallery.com

Koloman Moser: Designing Modern Vienna 1897–1907 (Final Weekend!)

Co-organized by the Neue Galerie in New York, this is the first United States retrospective of the Austrian artist and designer Koloman Moser, a key figure in fin-de-siècle Vienna. The exhibition features over 200 objects, including jewelry, metalwork, ceramics, textiles, and prints. 

Thru Jan 12. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet St. 713-639-7300. mfah.org

THEATER

Pilobolus

A pilobolus is a phototropic fungus that grows toward the light. Pilobolus is a Connecticut-based performance art troupe, founded in 1971, that uses the human body as an artistic medium. The dance company has collaborated with everyone from Art Spiegelman to the MIT Distributed Robotics Laboratory. On the program this year is a new work created with magicians Penn & Teller. 

Jan 10 at 7:30. $23–88. Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana St. 713-227-4772. spahouston.org