The Claudia and David Hatcher Series
Elias String Quartet; Sarah Rothenberg, piano
Event details
- Friday | February 9 | 7:30 PM
- Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
- 800 Bagby. Houston TX 77002
- 713-524-5050 | boxoffice@dacamera.com
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The intense, vibrant Elias Quartet returns to the DACAMERA stage for one night only following their historic Beethoven string quartet cycle in 2022 – and this time they’re joined by a friend. Artistic Director Sarah Rothenberg joins the quartet for Brahms’ majestic Piano Quintet, in which the composer’s own beloved instrument takes center stage. We kick off our celebration of composer Fanny Mendelssohn with her rhapsodic Quartet in E-flat Major, one of the first surviving string quartets by a woman. Stravinsky’s rarely-performed miniatures, Three Pieces for String Quartet, open the program.
Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet
Fanny Mendelssohn: String Quartet in E-flat Major
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34
Elias String Quartet (Sara Bitlloch, violin; Donald Grant, violin; Simone van der Giessen, viola; Marie Bitlloch, cello); Sarah Rothenberg, piano
“This immensely talented string quartet has the rare quality of unforced spontaneity.” – Sunday Telegraph (London)
“Their richly hued, passionate playing sounded both polished and spontaneous.” — The New York Times
*****
Focus on Fanny Mendelssohn: New Documentary Screening February 23
Mercury Studios has released a new feature documentary, Fanny: The Other Mendelssohn, directed by the composer’s great, great, great granddaughter, BAFTA-winning filmmaker Sheila Hayman, starring pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason and featuring fellow Fanny Mendelssohn champion Sarah Rothenberg, whose U.S. premiere and recording of Das Jahr contributed to the revival of interest in Fanny Mendelssohn. “a great story of a long-overdue revival…overdue recognition for a groundbreaking genius” — The Guardian. Watch the trailer.
Mark your calendar for the Houston premiere screening at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston on February 23, paired with a panel discussion with director Sheila Hayman, Sarah Rothenberg and musicologist Marcia Citron.
Listen to Sarah Rothenberg play Fanny Mendelssohn on YouTube here and here and on Spotify.
*****
VIDEO: HEAR the Elias String Quartet play Beethoven ↓
Recommended Concerts
Danish String Quartet
- Friday | February 16 | 8:00 PM
- Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center
The Grammy-nominated Danish Quartet is among the world’s finest string quartets, renowned for impeccable musicianship, sophisticated artistry and, above all, an unmatched ability to play as one. Music of Schubert (“Death and the Maiden”), Pucell, Haydn and Shostakovich.
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
- Saturday | February 24 | 8:00 PM
- Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center
The eldest of the famed British musical family of seven musical prodigies, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason possesses dazzling technical skills and spellbinding musicality that have propelled her into the international spotlight. She makes her Houston debut in a recital featuring an equally exciting Houston premiere: Fanny Mendelssohn’s “Easter” Sonata.
Daniil Trifonov, piano
- Friday | March 22 | 8:00 PM
- Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center
Grammy Award-winning pianist Daniil Trifonov, Musical America’s 2019 Artist of the Year, is “Without question, the most astounding pianist of our age,” says The Times of London.
