[HouTango-L] Mercury Baroque to perform Piazolla for Fall Community Tour

[A. Lester Buck III]

Antoine Plante  <mercurybaroque at sbcglobal.net> writes:


Fall Community Tour

8 Seasons
Baroque and Beyond

Vivaldi's 4 Seasons - Piazzolla's 4 Seasons


Jonathan Godfrey - Solo Violin
Antoine Plante - Conductor and Bandoneon

Saturday, November 15, 2003, 7:30 p.m.
University of Houston-Clear Lake, Bayou Theater
Info and Tickets: Student Life, 281-283-2560

Monday, November 17, 2003, 7:00 p.m.
San Jacinto College, Central Campus located at 8060 Spencer Hwy, Pasadena
Info: 713 533-0080

Tuesday, November 18, 2003, 7:30 p.m.
The Centrum - 6823 Cypresswood Dr., Spring
Presented by Cypress Creek Foundation for the Arts & Community Enrichment
Info and Tickets: 281-440-4850

Grab your overcoat, your galoshes, and your bikini, because
Mercury Baroque is going to take you through eight seasons on
two continents in just one evening.

"Our 'Baroque and Beyond!' series is our chance to mix it up and
be a little crazy," tells Antoine Plante, Conductor and Artistic
Director. "Especially for classically trained musicians like us!"

The show, entitled "8 Seasons" will feature Antonio Vivaldi's
famous "Four Seasons" along with another four seasons by Tango
composer Astor Piazzolla.  "You do the math!" laughs Plante,
"It's really fun to play works by Antonio Vivaldi and Piazzolla
next to each other.  You will hear what has changed and what has
remained constant in music over the last 240 years. It will be
an unforgettably beautiful evening."

One thing that has not changed in 240 years is the popularity
of this work by Vivaldi. Plante observes, "Not many people know
that he was a priest who mostly wrote operas.  'The Four Seasons'
was a hit from the start with audiences all across Europe in the
mid 1700's. I wish I had a t-shirt from that tour!"

"Both Vivaldi's and Piazzolla's 'Four Seasons' bring to life
powerful images from very different worlds... the icy winter
rains of Italy, the summer heat of Buenos Aires, peasant dances in
Venice, bandoneon laments, and even choruses of spring songbirds,"
explained Plante.

"It's really challenging to achieve all the right musical colors.
In this case, it takes 12 to tango, and we are excited to have
ten of Houston's finest musicians joining two of Mercury Baroque
Ensemble's founding members, Jonathan Godfrey (solo violin
for Vivaldi) and Antoine Plante (conductor, solo bandoneon for
Piazzolla's tangos), both masters of music who form the creative
center of all concerts."

The Mercury Baroque Ensemble explores 17th and 18th century music
from a variety of cultures. Using period instruments, historically
accurate performance methods and imaginative programming,
the ensemble's highly accomplished musicians bring the passion
of Baroque music to life with an uncompromising attention to
quality. The result is dynamic performances of thoughtfully
researched themes that educate as well as entertain, thereby
exemplifying the ensemble’s motto: Experience the passion of
Baroque Music.

Mercury Baroque Ensemble is funded in part by grants from the City
of Houston, the Texas Commission on the Arts and Harris County
through the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County.
It is also a participant in the Cultural Arts Council’s Arts
Incubator Program.

Mercury Baroque
3201 Allen Parkway, Suite 150
Houston TX 77019
Voice (713) 533-0080
Fax (713) 630-5208
<Mercury at houston.rr.com
<http://www.mercurybaroque.org/>