Beethoven for All: Piano Sonatas Part I
Event details
- Monday, December 4, 7:30 pm
- The Menil Collection
- Doors open at 7 PM.
- This event is at capacity and we are no longer taking reservations. On the day of the performance, additional walk-up seating may be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 7:00 PM. Unfilled seats will be released at 7:20 PM.
BEETHOVEN FOR ALL: THE PIANO SONATAS: December 4-16
DACAMERA’s popular free Beethoven for All series returns! Twenty sonatas spanning Beethoven’s lifetime – some of the most thrillingly inventive piano music ever composed, performed by leading Houston pianists
Pianists Andrew Staupe and Mei Rui kick off DACAMERA’s free Beethoven for All series with sonatas including Beethoven’s first, the Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2, No. 1.
Andrew Staupe
Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2, No. 1
Sonata No. 25 in G Major, Op. 79
Sonata No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 1
Mei Rui
Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp Major, Op. 78
Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, “Appassionata”
Pianist Andrew Staupe is emerging as one of the distinctive voices of a new generation of pianists. Andrew has appeared as soloist with the Baltimore Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Utah Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, and many other orchestras throughout the United States. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors Osmo Vänskä, Bobby McFerrin, Jahja Ling, Gerard Schwarz, Andrew Litton, Cristian Macelaru, Larry Rachleff, Lucas Richman, Rossen Milanov, Daniel Hege, and Josep-Caballé Domenech, and has performed across the United States and extensively in Europe. An avid chamber musician, Andrew is a part of the newly-formed Trio Magnoliana, with violinist Mann-Wen Lo and cellist Eunghee Cho.
Dr. Mei Rui is a Yale-trained molecular biochemist and an internationally award-winning concert pianist. Medalist of the World Piano Competition in 2015, Dr. Rui was praised by the Boston Globe as a “riveting” virtuoso, and by Boston Musical Intelligencer as a concert artist with “deeply felt and intense musicality.” Her recent performances include all the Rachmaninoff Concerti with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Yale Philharmonic, World Doctors Orchestra, and TMC Orchestra. As a principal investigator, Dr. Rui is a pioneer in the field of Music Medicine. She is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and the Director of the Music-in-Medicine Initiative at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Beethoven for All Sponsors: Ron Franklin and Janet Gurwitch
Recommended Concerts
Beethoven for All: Piano Sonatas Part II
- Tuesday, December 5, 7:30 pm
- The Menil Collection
The free series continues with pianists Rodolfo Morales and Yvonne Chen. Highlights include the popular “Pastoral” sonata, No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28. This event is at capacity. Doors open at 7:00 PM. Walk up seating may be available on the day of the performance. Unfilled seats will be released at 7:20 PM.
Beethoven for All: Piano Sonatas Part III
- Monday, December 11, 7:30 pm
- The Menil Collection
This Beethoven for All concert celebrates the DACAMERA Young Artist program with performances by Jonathan Mak and Chelsea De Souza, with highlights including No. 26 in E-flat Major, Op. 81a, “Les Adieux.” This event is at capacity and we are no longer taking reservations. On the day of the performance, additional walk-up seating may be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 7:00 PM. Unfilled seats will be released at 7:20 PM.
Beethoven for All: Piano Sonatas Part IV
- Saturday, December 16, 1:00 pm
- Rothko Chapel
Beethoven for All culminates in an afternoon marathon at Rothko Chapel. Pianist Timothy Hester begins the day with the sonatas nicknamed “Pathetique” and “Waldstein.” This event is at capacity and we are no longer accepting reservations. On the day of the performance, additional walk-up seating may be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 12:30 PM; unfilled seats released at 12:50 PM.
