DACAMERA Presents Elias String Quartet In Beethoven's Complete String Quartets This March and April
Houston audiences have once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the full cycle in chronological order over six unforgettable evenings.
By: A.A. Cristi Feb. 02, 2022
DACAMERA, a Houston-based presenter of chamber music and jazz concerts, presents the world-renowned Elias String Quartet in Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets, a series of six concerts taking place at The Menil Collection and Zilka Hall between March 28 and April 8.
This series offers a rare opportunity for Houston audiences to hear Beethoven's complete quartets-considered by many to be the summit of chamber music composition-in chronological order. DACAMERA Artistic Director Sarah Rothenberg will introduce each concert, leading the audience through Beethoven's life and music.
The quartets were composed by Beethoven from age 28 until the year before his death. From the adventurous Opus 18 quartets building on the legacy of Haydn and Mozart, to the heroic works of the middle period and the highly expressive, experimental, spiritual late works, the cycle encompasses the dramatic transformation in Beethoven's music over the course of his career.
The Elias String Quartet-a London-based ensemble featuring Sara Bitlloch, violin; Donald Grant, violin; Simone van der Giessen, viola; and Marie Bitlloch, cello-have quickly established themselves as one of the most intense and vibrant quartets of their generation. Formed in 1998 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (RNCM), where they worked closely with the late Dr. Christopher Rowland, the group spent a year studying at the Hochschule in Cologne with the Alban Berg quartet. They are now ensemble in residence at the RNCM and regularly return to teach and perform.
In 2009 the Elias Quartet was chosen to participate in BBC Radio 3's New Generation Artists' scheme and was also a recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. With the support of the Trust, the Elias Quartet mounted "The Beethoven Project," studying and performing all of Beethoven's string quartets as cycles while sharing their experience through a special website and social media. They have recorded the complete Beethoven quartets live at London's prestigious Wigmore Hall, released in four volumes to great critical acclaim. BBC Music Magazine described their performance as "simply astounding, in the freshness, intensity, assurance, and seeming spontaneity of their playing." This performance marks their return to DACAMERA's chamber music series.
Individual tickets for Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets are $60 for shows at the Menil Collection and start at $37.50 for shows at Hobby Center. Packages for all 6 concerts start at $270. Tickets are available by contacting DACAMERA, 1402 Sul Ross, at 713-524-5050 or online at www.dacamera.com.Tickets for students and senior citizens are always half-price. $5 student rush tickets are available 30 minutes before each concert begins.
Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets
Monday, March 28, 2022, 7:30 PM
The Menil Collection
Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1; Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2; Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3
Tuesday, March 29, 2022, 7:30 PM
The Menil Collection
Quartet in C Minor, Op. 18, No. 4; Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5; Quartet in B-Flat Major Op. 18, No. 6
Friday, April 1, 2022, 7:30 PM
Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
The "Razumovsky" Quartets: Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1; Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2; Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3
Monday, April 4, 2022, 7:30 PM
The Menil Collection
Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 "Harp"; Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95, "Serioso"; Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 127
Tuesday, April 5, 2022, 7:30 PM
The Menil Collection
Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 130 (with Op. 133 finale "Grosse Fuge"); Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132
Friday, April 8, 2022, 7:30 PM
Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
Quartet in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131; Quartet in F Major, Op. 135; Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 130 (with alternate finale)
Covid-19 Protocols
Patrons are required to show either proof of a negative Covid-19 test result or proof of vaccination and photo identification at ticketed events at all DACAMERA venues. Patrons must wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth at all times, except while actively eating or drinking.
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