Da Camera 17-18 Brochure.Indd

Sarah Rothenberg Artistic & Genera l Director

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

SEASON 2017-18 Celebrating 30 Years of Excellence and Innovation in Music SEASON AT A GLANCE

From Harlem to Havana From Renaissance to Reich Cy Twombly and Music Harlem Quartet with Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord Claire Chase, flute Aldo López-Gavilán, piano Tuesday, December 12, 2017, 7:30 PM Monday, April 2, 2018, 7:30 PM Saturday, September 23, 2017, 8:00 PM The Menil Collection Tuesday, April 3, 2018, 7:30 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Center Charles Ives’s America: Hymns, The Menil Collection’s Cy Twombly Gallery Robert Glasper Experiment Songs, Sonatas Juilliard String Quartet Friday, October 6, 2017, 8:00 PM Jeremy Denk, piano; Stefan Jackiw, violin Cullen Theater, Wortham Center Friday, April 6, 2018, 7:30 PM and Houston Chamber Choir Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Tuesday, January 23, 2018, 7:30 PM Quatuor Mosaïques Performing Arts Tuesday, October 17, 2017, 7:30 PM Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center Brad Mehldau Trio The Menil Collection Charles Lloyd and The Marvels Friday, April 13, 2018, 8:00 PM A Stranger I Arrive, A Stranger I Depart featuring Bill Frisell, guitar and Schubert’s Winterreise Eric Harland, drums Cullen Theater, Wortham Center Tyler Duncan, baritone; Friday, February 2, 2018, 8:00 PM Wartime Stories Sarah Rothenberg, piano Cullen Theater, Wortham Center Reich and Messiaen Monday, October 23, 2017, 7:30 PM Sérgio and Odair Assad, guitars and St. Lawrence String Quartet Tuesday, October 24, 2017, 7:30 PM Avi Avital, mandolin Sarah Rothenberg, piano The Menil Collection Saturday, February 17, 2018, 7:30PM Saturday, April 21, 2018, 8:00 PM Tiempo Libre Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center Cullen Theater, Wortham Center Friday, November 10, 2017, 8:00 PM James K. Schooler Memorial Concert Poetry and Music: Exile and Return Cullen Theater, Wortham Center Garrick Ohlsson, piano Sarah Rothenberg, piano and Friday, March 2, 2018, 8:00 PM Songs of Freedom: poet Adam Zagajewski Cullen Theater, Wortham Center A Tribute to Abbey Lincoln, Monday, April 30, 2018, 7:30 PM Joni Mitchell and Nina Simone Mingus Big Band Tuesday, May 1, 2018, 7:30 PM Featuring René Marie, Theo Bleckmann and featuring Helen Sung, piano MATCH: Midtown Arts and Saturday, March 24, 2018, 8:00PM Alicia Olatuja Theater Center Houston Friday, December 1, 2017, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Center Cullen Theater, Wortham Center Dianne Reeves Friday, May 4, 2018, 8:00 PM OPENING NIGHT Cullen Theater, Wortham Center From Harlem to Havana NO Harlem Quartet with PLACE LIKE Aldo López-Gavilán, piano HOME 17 SEASON Saturday, September 23, 2017, 8:00 PM Dear Friends of Da Camera, 18 Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center “No Place Like Home” is a season theme with multiple meanings. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, we thank the Aldo López-Gavilán Epílogo Houston community for our vibrant home. The city’s characteristic openness and entrepreneurial spirit have allowed Antônio Carlos Jobim The Girl from Ipanema Da Camera to thrive, grow as the city grows, and become a nationally-recognized leader of innovation and excellence in Dizzy Gillespie A Night in Tunisia chamber music and jazz. Frank Churchill Someday My Prince Will Come We celebrate our rich past by bringing back old friends like the Juilliard Quartet, and as Houston’s premiere jazz presenter, Aldo López-Gavilán Viernes de Ciudad we salute the city’s contributions to this art form with three Jazz Homecomings of native stars as part of our 7 concert series. Billy Strayhorn Take the A Train We look to the role of “home” for composers, from the evolution of “house music” chamber forms like the string quartet and Joaquín Turina La Oración del torero Beethoven’s piano sonatas to American maverick Charles Ives’s haunting childhood memories of hymns and folk tunes. Edvard Grieg String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 27 “No Place Like Home” also asks questions about the meaning of home on a larger scale. What is America? The vitality of our Harlem Quartet (Ilmar Gavilán, violin; Melissa White, violin; Jaime Amador, viola; Felix Umansky, cello); American music-making thrives on diversity, from musicians from around the world who have chosen to make America their Aldo López-Gavilán, piano and guest composer home to American-born artists of a variety of heritages. Many musicians today are true global citizens, in both their musical collaborations across nationalities and embracing of multiple styles: Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital, guitarists Sérgio and Odair The Harlem Quartet hail from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the American Midwest, but they call Harlem – with its Assad, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani. The question of home also brings up its opposite: homelessness and exile. Schubert’s spectacular diversity and rich artistic history – home. They are dedicated to advancing diversity in classical great song cycle, Winter’s Journey, eloquently evokes a solitary wanderer, and we place this masterwork next to the evocative music while engaging new audiences with varied repertoire. Cuban piano prodigy Aldo López-Gavilán, installations of Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum at the Menil Collection. Times of war invariably bring out the fragility of home, brother of the Quartet’s Ilmar Gavilán, is known for his mastery of both classical piano repertoire and the and we present 20th-century masterpieces of great inspiration created under heartbreaking circumstances, including Olivier Messiaen’s transcendent Quartet for the End of Time. Afro-Cuban jazz tradition. His performances with the Harlem Quartet offer a dynamic mix of classical repertoire, jazz standards and López-Gavilán's own compositions. Da Camera’s 30th season engages us in the extraordinary range of emotions that music can evoke, allows us to share human experiences across cultures and time. We invite you to join us on this musical adventure. “bringing a new attitude to classical music, one that is fresh,

bracing and intelligent” – Cincinnati Enquirer on Harlem Quartet “ Sarah Rothenberg Simply a genius, a star. Artistic & General Director “ – Chucho Valdés on Aldo López-Gavilán

SEASON AT A GLANCE

bracing and intelligent” – Cincinnati Enquirer on Harlem Quartet “ Sarah Rothenberg Simply a genius, a star. Artistic & General Director “ – Chucho Valdés on Aldo López-Gavilán

DA CAMERA Quatuor Mosaïques Tuesday, October 17, 2017, 7:30 PM JAZZ The Menil Collection Haydn String Quartet in D Major, Op. 33, No. 6 JAZZ HOMECOMING I: ROBERT GLASPER Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13 Robert Glasper Experiment Beethoven String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132 Friday, October 6, 2017, 8:00 PM Erich Höbarth, violin; Andrea Bischof, violin; Anita Mitterer, viola; Christophe Coin, cello Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center The string quartet evolved as music-making for Since his first appearance on the Da Camera jazz series in 2006, Houston native and HSPVA grad Robert accomplished amateurs and professionals in Glasper has become one of the most influential and busiest figures in jazz. He has worked as music director intimate, private settings before it moved to the for Mos Def and Bilal, hit the studio with Q-Tip, Kanye West, and Erykah Badu, done a world tour with public arena. The world-renowned Quatuor Maxwell, and scored Don Cheadle’s Miles Ahead film, all while releasing jazz recordings that have drawn Mosaïques, the maverick period-instrument steady acclaim. His worlds merged on the Robert Glasper Experiment albums, Black Radio and quartet from Germany, returns to the Black Radio 2. On its latest release, ArtScience, the Experiment sounds like a bit of everything that's Menil Collection, our modern salon setting, vibrant and challenging and great about music woven into a billowing fabric of jazz, funk, soul, rock, with three genre-defining quartets. hip-hop, blues, disco, electronic and pop. “The quartet’s powerful “Robert Glasper Experiment specializes in deep, immersive grooves, nourished as performance of [Beethoven’s] much by hip-hop and R&B as any known species of jazz.” – The New York Times Opus 132 as a whole, the highlight of the evening, was “deeply soulful, emphasizing vibe over show-offy virtuosity.” – JazzTimes remarkably expressive and nuanced.” – The New York Times A Stranger I Arrive, A Stranger I Depart Monday, October 23, 2017, 7:30 PM Tuesday, October 24, 2017, 7:30 PM Composed nearly 200 years The Menil Collection “ ago in 1827, Winterreise Schubert Winterreise tells the story of a “winter’s Tyler Duncan, baritone; Sarah Rothenberg, piano journey” made by a rejected lover expelled from a town, wandering “I cannot choose the time of my journey, I must make alone through a frigid landscape.

my own way in this darkness.” It is a journey without shelter,

– from Winterreise’s opening song, Good-Night without friend, and with no arrival. Schubert’s stunning song cycle about a solitary wanderer With exquisite simplicity“ and without shelter is presented in the context of Lebanon-born beauty, Schubert makes this Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum’s groundbreaking installations, experience our own. which explore the fragility of home in a world torn apart by war – Sarah Rothenberg and exile. Metropolitan Opera baritone Tyler Duncan makes his Houston debut. “Duncan has one of those perfect lieder voices.” – The Post and Courier Presented in conjunction with the Menil Collection’s exhibition Mona Hatoum: Terra Infirma, on view October 13, 2017 to February 25, 2018

my own way in this darkness.” It is a journey without shelter,

DA CAMERA JAZZ Tiempo Libre Friday, November 10, 2017, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center Three-time Grammy-nominated Afro-Caribbean ensemble Tiempo Libre is one of the hottest Latin bands performing today. Tiempo Libre is celebrated for its sophisticated tropical music featuring an irresistible, exhilarating mix of jazz harmonies, contemporary sound and propulsive Latin rhythms. The band has appeared around the globe and has been featured on television shows including The Tonight Show.

“World class act” – London Evening Standard

“Dance music of sophistication and abandon” – New York Times

DA CAMERA JAZZ

Songs of Freedom: A Tribute to Abbey Lincoln, Joni Mitchell and Nina Simone Featuring René Marie, Theo Bleckmann and Alicia Olatuja Friday, December 1, 2017, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center Three adventurous vocalists of today present compelling visions of American in the 1960’s, paying tribute to three giants: Abbey Lincoln, Joni Mitchell and Nina Simone. These prolific artists championed freedom in the realms of civil rights, individuality, love and politics. Abbey Lincoln was a strong presence at Da Camera, appearing the first year the organization presented a stand-alone jazz series and making multiple return visits. Grammy Award-winning drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. is music director of this ambitious tribute first presented at Jazz at Lincoln Center. “among the most dynamic jazz vocalists around …The voice is spectacular: dark, full and rich…utterly transﬁxing.” – JazzTimes on René Marie

“a singer with a strong and luscious tone and an amiably regal presence on stage” – The New York Times on Alicia Olatuja

“Theo Bleckmann sounds like he can sing anything.” – Boston Globe DA CAMERA JAZZ Tiempo Libre Friday, November 10, 2017, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center Three-time Grammy-nominated Afro-Caribbean ensemble Tiempo Libre is one of the hottest Latin bands performing today. Tiempo Libre is celebrated for its sophisticated tropical music featuring an irresistible, exhilarating mix of jazz harmonies, contemporary sound and propulsive Latin rhythms. The band has appeared around the globe and has been featured on television shows including The Tonight Show.

“World class act” – London Evening Standard

“Dance music of sophistication and abandon” – New York Times

DA CAMERA JAZZ

“a singer with a strong and luscious tone and an amiably regal presence on stage” – The New York Times on Alicia Olatuja

“Theo Bleckmann sounds like he can sing anything.” – Boston Globe

From Renaissance to Reich Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord Tuesday, December 12, 2017, 7:30 PM The Menil Collection Thomas Tomkins Pavan Giles Farnaby Woody-Cock Henry Cowell Set of Four Viktor Kalabis Three Aquarelles Kaija Saariaho Jardin Secret II J.S. Bach Toccata in C Minor, BWV 911 Steve Reich Piano Phase Mahan Esfahani has almost single-handedly reintroduced the harpsichord into the mainstream of concert life. The Iranian- American musician was honored in 2015 with the BBC Music

Magazine Newcomer of the Year award and was nominated in three

categories for the Gramophone Awards – Best Baroque Instrumental, Best Instrumental and Artist of the Year. His imaginative approach “ [Ives’s] music is brilliant, inventive, tender, edgy, proves that the harpsichord is an instrument for today, not only “ wild, original, witty, haunting. relevant but even revolutionary, with concerts often juxtaposing early music with works that are modern and even avant-garde. His recital – Jeremy Denk ranges from the English Renaissance to a new version of Steve ` Reich’s Piano Phase. “Now he emerges as a superstar whose Charles Ives’s America: Hymns, Songs, Sonatas musicianship, imagination, virtuosity, cultural Jeremy Denk, piano; Stefan Jackiw, violin and breadth and charisma far transcends the ivory Houston Chamber Choir tower in which the harpsichord has traditionally Tuesday, January 23, 2018, 7:30 PM been placed.” – The Times Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Complete sonatas for violin and piano by Charles Ives Traditional songs, hymns and marches

Few composers have drawn as much literal inspiration from their childhood home as the American maverick Charles Ives. Award-winning pianist Jeremy Denk has made a special project of championing the music of Ives. In this imaginative project, Denk, violinist Stefan Jackiw and members of Houston Chamber Choir explore inspiration and Ives’s unparalleled invention, interweaving the original hymns, patriotic songs and marches performed by a quartet of singers with the wildly imaginative sonatas of Ives that those Other than the distance of time, which only our linear conceptions of songs inspired.

“ history have transformed into anxieties about the "dead" and "alive,"

there is really no difference between, say, a cross-relation in a cadence “Mr. Denk’s playing exuded afﬁnity for Ives and vivid imagination. Mr. Jackiw, from [Renaissance composer]“ Farnaby and the incredible range of colors deftly balancing fervor and elegance, beautiful tone and earthy colorings, emanating from the ambiguity between semitones and whole tones in proved a comparably inspired Ivesian on this exciting night.” – The New York Times [today’s Kaija] Saariaho.

– Mahan Esfahani “Jackiw and Denk put the difﬁculties in the background and made these tough scores ﬂow like jazz improvisations.” – Portland Press-Herald

Magazine Newcomer of the Year award and was nominated in three categories for the Gramophone Awards – Best Baroque Instrumental, Best Instrumental and Artist of the Year. His imaginative approach “ [Ives’s] music is brilliant, inventive, tender, edgy, proves that the harpsichord is an instrument for today, not only “ wild, original, witty, haunting. relevant but even revolutionary, with concerts often juxtaposing early music with works that are modern and even avant-garde. His recital – Jeremy Denk ranges from the English Renaissance to a new version of Steve ` Reich’s Piano Phase. “Now he emerges as a superstar whose Charles Ives’s America: Hymns, Songs, Sonatas musicianship, imagination, virtuosity, cultural Jeremy Denk, piano; Stefan Jackiw, violin and breadth and charisma far transcends the ivory Houston Chamber Choir tower in which the harpsichord has traditionally Tuesday, January 23, 2018, 7:30 PM been placed.” – The Times Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Complete sonatas for violin and piano by Charles Ives Traditional songs, hymns and marches

“ history have transformed into anxieties about the "dead" and "alive," there is really no difference between, say, a cross-relation in a cadence “Mr. Denk’s playing exuded afﬁnity for Ives and vivid imagination. Mr. Jackiw, from [Renaissance composer]“ Farnaby and the incredible range of colors deftly balancing fervor and elegance, beautiful tone and earthy colorings, emanating from the ambiguity between semitones and whole tones in proved a comparably inspired Ivesian on this exciting night.” – The New York Times [today’s Kaija] Saariaho.

– Mahan Esfahani “Jackiw and Denk put the difﬁculties in the background and made these tough scores ﬂow like jazz improvisations.” – Portland Press-Herald DA CAMERA JAZZ

JAZZ HOMECOMING II: ERIC HARLAND Charles Lloyd and the Marvels featuring Bill Frisell, guitar and Eric Harland, drums Friday, February 2, 2018, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center NEA Jazz Master Charles Lloyd returns to Da Camera’s jazz series. In this unique formation of the Marvels, Lloyd pairs two of his favorite partners, bassist Reuben Rogers and Houston native drummer Eric Harland, with two great guitarists, Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz. The mood is celebratory, with Lloyd displaying his knack for threading complex, dynamic musical ideas into the most elemental and open-hearted of riffs and melodies. On their Blue Note recording I Long To See You, the group explores rich canonical texts of the great American songbook from Shenandoah and Abide With Me, to Bob Dylan’s Masters of War, to Lloyd classics like Sombrero Sam, Island Blues and Of Course, Of Course.

“Music that evokes an uncommon state of grace.” – National Public Radio

Sérgio and Odair Assad, guitars and Avi Avital, mandolin Saturday, February 17, 2018, 7:30 PM Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Israeli superstar mandolin player Avi Avital and celebrated Brazilian-born guitarists Sérgio and Odair Assad are global musical citizens, at home with an international program ranging from Bach to Brazil. The Assads, with their exceptional artistry and uncanny ensemble-playing, team up with Avital, passionate and “explosively charismatic” (New York Times) in live performance. Avi Avital is a driving force behind the reinvigoration of the mandolin repertory. The trio explore both classical repertoire reimagined for guitar and mandolin, and traditional choro music, a popular Brazilian genre known for its upbeat rhythms and bravura virtuosity.

“A musician who recognizes no boundaries except those of good taste and who has the artistry to persuade listeners to follow him anywhere.” – Gramophone on Avi Avital

“Music that evokes an uncommon state of grace.” – National Public Radio

“A musician who recognizes no boundaries except those of good taste and who has the artistry to persuade listeners to follow him anywhere.” – Gramophone on Avi Avital

“Call it one of the most engaging musical presentations of the season. Better yet, call it a stunning display of the music of the Western Hemisphere.” – The Los Angeles Times on Sérgio and Odair Assad JAMES K. SCHOOLER MEMORIAL CONCERT Garrick Ohlsson Plays Beethoven Friday, March 2, 2018, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center Beethoven Sonata in C Minor, Op. 13 “Pathetique” Sonata in F Minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata” Sonata in C Major, Op. 53 “Waldstein” Sonata in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 “Moonlight” The remarkable stamp of originality that Beethoven brought to classical forms is nowhere more evident than in his piano sonatas, which traverse his creative life. Beethoven transformed the musical sonata form, originally intended for the amateur keyboardist’s home enjoyment, into virtuosic works that challenged and expanded the piano’s capacity for expression. Here, celebrated pianist Garrick Ohlssohn tackles four of Beethoven’s most beloved masterpieces, bringing to life the passionate and dramatic spirit of these revolutionary works, which continue to amaze and surprise us. “Garrick Ohlsson is a big pianist with a calmly commanding presence.” – The Independent

THE JAMES K. SCHOOLER MEMORIAL CONCERT IS AN ANNUAL EVENT RECOGNIZING THE GENEROUS BEQUEST MADE BY A LOYAL DA CAMERA SUBSCRIBER AND DONOR.

The piano was Beethoven’s primary “instrument, and he tried his ideas out on DA CAMERA the piano all the time, so the piano was in a way his laboratory for composition…If a man JAZZ

from Mars were dropped on the earth and

the only Beethoven left was the piano JAZZ HOMECOMING III: HELEN SUNG sonatas, he could actually form a pretty“ complete idea of who Beethoven was. They Mingus Big Band present a full, accurate portrait. featuring Helen Sung, piano

— Garrick Ohlssohn Saturday, March 24, 2018, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center The Mingus Big Band celebrates the music of legendary composer/bassist Charles Mingus, who died in 1979. Under the artistic direction of Sue Mingus, this 14-piece band performed Thursday nights from 1991 to 2004 at Fez under Time Cafe in New York. It maintained weekly residencies in the city from 2004 until 2008, when it began Mingus Mondays at the Jazz Standard. The Mingus Big Band tours extensively in the United States and abroad, and has ten recordings to its credit, seven of which have been nominated for Grammys. Pianist Helen Sung, a Houston native and graduate of HSPVA, has long been associated with the band and makes a homecoming appearance.

“Decades after his death, the richly-detailed, soul-stirring oeuvre of Charles Mingus still packs a wallop. Thankfully, the beat goes on in the form of the Mingus Big Band.” – National Public Radio

“lyricism, light touch, and classical polish…complemented by plenty of hard-chord muscle.” – The Guardian, London on Helen Sung JAMES K. SCHOOLER MEMORIAL CONCERT Garrick Ohlsson Plays Beethoven Friday, March 2, 2018, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center Beethoven Sonata in C Minor, Op. 13 “Pathetique” Sonata in F Minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata” Sonata in C Major, Op. 53 “Waldstein” Sonata in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 “Moonlight” The remarkable stamp of originality that Beethoven brought to classical forms is nowhere more evident than in his piano sonatas, which traverse his creative life. Beethoven transformed the musical sonata form, originally intended for the amateur keyboardist’s home enjoyment, into virtuosic works that challenged and expanded the piano’s capacity for expression. Here, celebrated pianist Garrick Ohlssohn tackles four of Beethoven’s most beloved masterpieces, bringing to life the passionate and dramatic spirit of these revolutionary works, which continue to amaze and surprise us. “Garrick Ohlsson is a big pianist with a calmly commanding presence.” – The Independent

THE JAMES K. SCHOOLER MEMORIAL CONCERT IS AN ANNUAL EVENT RECOGNIZING THE GENEROUS BEQUEST MADE BY A LOYAL DA CAMERA SUBSCRIBER AND DONOR.

The piano was Beethoven’s primary “instrument, and he tried his ideas out on DA CAMERA the piano all the time, so the piano was in a way his laboratory for composition…If a man JAZZ from Mars were dropped on the earth and the only Beethoven left was the piano JAZZ HOMECOMING III: HELEN SUNG sonatas, he could actually form a pretty“ complete idea of who Beethoven was. They Mingus Big Band present a full, accurate portrait. featuring Helen Sung, piano

“lyricism, light touch, and classical polish…complemented by plenty of hard-chord muscle.” – The Guardian, London on Helen Sung Cy Twombly and Music Juilliard String Quartet Claire Chase, ﬂute Friday, April 6, 2018, 7:30 PM Monday, April 2, 2018, 7:30 PM Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday, April 3, 2018, 7:30 PM Beethoven String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5 Cy Twombly Gallery on the campus of the Menil Collection Bartók String Quartet No. 5 Works of Marcos Balter, Salvatore Sciarrino, Erik Ulman and others Dvořák String Quartet No. 11 in C Major, Op. 61

Claire Chase, flute; Erik Ulman, guest composer Juilliard String Quartet (Joseph Lin, violin; Ronald Copes, violin; Roger Tapping, viola; Astrid Schween, cello) In celebration of Da Camera’s 30-year relationship with the Menil Collection, in many ways the organization’s artistic home, Da Camera presents a special art and music program in the Cy Twombly Da Camera launched its inaugural season in 1988 with this distinguished quartet. Founded in 1946, the Gallery. Virtuoso flutist and MacArthur fellow Claire Chase features works inspired by the paintings of Juilliard String Quartet has become a living American legend. Now, in celebration of Da Camera’s 30th Cy Twombly, in the Renzo Piano-designed Menil space dedicated to his work. Chicago-based, Brazilian anniversary, the Quartet returns to Houston in its newest configuration, with a thrilling program of three composer Marcos Balter’s Descent from Parnassus was composed for Claire Chase. Guest composer major works. Widely known as the “quintessential American string quartet,” the Juilliard brings us young Erik Ulman shares personal reminiscences of his friendship and correspondence with the artist. Beethoven in high spirits, Bartók's electrifying fifth quartet and the lush late Romanticism of Dvořák.

“a virtuoso of amazing dexterity and sensitivity” – Chicago Tribune “The Juilliard String Quartet can plausibly be called the most important American quartet in history…completely revitalized.” “the young star of the modern ﬂute” – The New Yorker – The Boston Globe Cy Twombly and Music Juilliard String Quartet Claire Chase, ﬂute Friday, April 6, 2018, 7:30 PM Monday, April 2, 2018, 7:30 PM Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday, April 3, 2018, 7:30 PM Beethoven String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5 Cy Twombly Gallery on the campus of the Menil Collection Bartók String Quartet No. 5 Works of Marcos Balter, Salvatore Sciarrino, Erik Ulman and others Dvořák String Quartet No. 11 in C Major, Op. 61

Saturday, April 21, 2018, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center Steve Reich Different Trains Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time Video: Mihai Cucu Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton Two masterworks of the twentieth century depicting profoundly contrasting personal experiences of the WWII era are presented together in this visual concert. Steve Reich’s ground-breaking Different Trains, paired powerfully with synchronized video, interweaves live and pre-recorded string quartet with sounds of trains, whistles, sirens, recorded voices from the American past and fragmented memories of Holocaust survivors. Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, composed in a German prisoner of war camp in 1940, is dramatized with lighting by renowned designer Jennifer Tipton.

“A rare gift for combining interpretive spontaneity and ﬁerce musical commitment.” – The New York Times on the St. Lawrence String Quartet

“a magniﬁcent pianist” – Olivier Messiaen DA CAMERA JAZZ Brad Mehldau Trio Friday, April 13, 2018, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center

Over the last two decades, pianist Brad Mehldau has forged a unique path which embodies the essence of jazz exploration, classical romanticism and pop allure. Now, he makes his long awaited first appearance on Da Camera’s jazz series. His unquestionable leadership across idioms has grown as he has transformed the paradigm of jazz and classical performance – performing both solo and with his long-standing trio with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums.

“Universally admired as one of the most adventurous pianists to arrive on the jazz scene in years.” – The Los Angeles Times “Inside the music of Brad Mehldau is a conﬂict among rock, jazz and classical personalities. Ultimately, though, the pianist has ﬁgured a way to integrate all three pretty seamlessly.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer Wartime Stories Wartime always brings St. Lawrence String Quartet “uprootedness and absence from Sarah Rothenberg, piano home. Reich’s Different Trains and clarinetist to be announced was inspired by the composer’s childhood memories of Saturday, April 21, 2018, 8:00 PM transcontinental trips across Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center America as he was shuttled Steve Reich Different Trains between divorced parents and Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time their homes in New York and LA; years later, he realized with Video: Mihai Cucu horror that tragic train journeys Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton of Jewish children like himself Two masterworks of the twentieth century depicting had taken place at the same profoundly contrasting personal experiences of the WWII era time in Europe, and he composed this high-energy, are presented together in this visual concert. Steve Reich’s powerfully kinetic work as a ground-breaking Different Trains, paired powerfully with testament to both experiences. synchronized video, interweaves live and pre-recorded string Messiaen’s Quartet for the End

quartet with sounds of trains, whistles, sirens, recorded voices of Time is a world apart, a

from the American past and fragmented memories of transcendent spiritual “ Holocaust survivors. Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of statement of mystical faith that Time, composed in a German prisoner of war camp in 1940, is looks beyond earthly time. dramatized with lighting by renowned designer Jennifer Tipton. – Sarah Rothenberg “A rare gift for combining interpretive spontaneity and ﬁerce musical commitment.” – The New York Times on the St. Lawrence String Quartet

“a magniﬁcent pianist” – Olivier Messiaen DA CAMERA JAZZ Brad Mehldau Trio Friday, April 13, 2018, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center

Da Camera closes the 30th anniversary season with the pre-eminent jazz vocalist in the world today - Dianne Reeves. Her arsenal of talents is richly on display in each and every song of her limitless repertoire. As a result of her virtuosity and improvisational prowess, Reeves has received five Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album and an honorary doctorate of music from Juilliard. Her magical, timeless voice, exceptional personality and the sheer force of her performances mark her as a captivating world-class artist.

“She roams and explores, growls and catches at notes and phrasings. It is this audacity that makes Reeves’ voice an awesome instrument.” – People Magazine “A natural story teller, she used her timing and phrasing to bring novel insights to everything she sang.” – Los Angeles Times

DA CAMERA JAZZ Poetry and Music: Exile and Return Sarah Rothenberg, piano and poet Adam Zagajewski Monday, April 30, 2018, 7:30 PM Tuesday, May, 1, 2018, 7:30 PM MATCH: Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston Adam Zagajewski is Poland’s most famous living poet, winner of the Kurt Tucholsky Prize, a Prix de la Liberté, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2010, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in a Polish city that became part of the Soviet Union, Zagajewski left his native country 1982 for Europe and the United States, where he was a visiting professor in the University of Houston’s Creative Writing program. In 2002, he returned home to Krakow. Now, Da Camera welcomes Adam Zagajewski back to Houston to read from works recent and past in a collaborative program of music and poetry with longtime collaborator Sarah Rothenberg. Zagajewski’s books include Eternal Enemies: Poems and Slight Exaggeration: An Essay and Two Cities: On Exile, History and the Imagination. “Zagajewski is now one of the most familiar and highly regarded names in poetry both in Europe and in this country.” – New York Review of Books “Sarah Rothenberg is an outstanding pianist...She ﬁnds the unwritten words...and weaves a performance of pure poetry.” – CD Review

I dreamed of my distant city—

“ it spoke the language of children and the injured,

it spoke in many voices, rushing to shout one another down, like simple“ people suddenly admitted to the presence of a great official… Presented in collaboration with

- from I Dreamed of My City Dianne Reeves Friday, May 4, 2018, 8:00 PM Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center

I dreamed of my distant city—

“ it spoke the language of children and the injured, it spoke in many voices, rushing to shout one another down, like simple“ people suddenly admitted to the presence of a great official… Presented in collaboration with

- from I Dreamed of My City Education and Community Initiatives As a Da Camera Subscriber, Free concerts. School programs. Young Artist Professional Training. You’ll Enjoy Superb Concerts and Valuable Benefits. Master classes. Community residencies. Da Camera presents an extensive variety of programs intended to enhance the Flexibility Free Parking For Full Season Subscribers appreciation of chamber music and jazz, to make music a part of everyday life and to prepare Can’t make it to a concert? Full Season series subscribers receive free parking in young musicians for a life of community engagement. Get all the details at dacamera.com Exchange to any other – even a concert outside the Alley Theatre garage. your series! A Little Day Music Discounts On Additional Tickets Save 20% on any additional tickets you purchase. Free concerts the first Wednesday of the month The Best Seats Subscribers get the very best reserved seats. at noon at Wortham Theater Center. Early Purchase Of Additional Tickets Renewing subscribers move up when better seats Oct. 4, Nov. 1, Dec. 6, 2017 and Feb. 7, March 7, Apr. 4, May 2, 2018 Subscribers are offered the opportunity to purchase become available. single tickets before they go on sale to the public. Stop, Look & Listen! at The Menil Collection Art and music interact in these popular free programs at Savings Advance Program Notes Save up to 40% off single ticket prices! The Menil Collection on Saturday afternoons. Da Camera offers subscribers advance program Wild Card notes by email. Da Camera Pop-up Concerts A free ticket to any concert—bring a friend or try Chamber music and jazz performances presented at Free Da Camera Merchandise Coupon something new! the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Galveston Artist Residency, Choose a Da Camera composer mug or another item community centers, hospitals and more. . chosen specifically for Da Camera subscribers. Da Camera Jam At Discovery Green Free concerts Thursday evenings in April at the downtown Get Additional Benefits When You Add a Donation park celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month. $2,500 Ensemble – With Private $1,000 Composer Stay tuned for details! House Concerts • Valet parking Jazz Homecoming Residencies • Invitation to private house concerts throughout the • Private intermission and post-concert Carrying on the community work that began with the season including: receptions with selected artists Jason Moran Homecoming Residency, Houston native • Jazz pianist Robert Glasper • Reserved priority seating for Menil Collection jazz musicians Robert Glasper, Eric Harland and Helen Sung • Violinist Geoff Nuttall of St. Lawrence String Quartet concerts engage with students during their homecoming visits. • Pianist Sarah Rothenberg, Artistic and General Director • VIP ticket purchase and exchange service • Listing on Ensemble Member page in program book • Plus benefits associated with the $500 level Mentors In Music Master Classes • Plus benefits associated with the $1,000 level Renowned chamber music and jazz artists coach $500 Improviser local high school and university music students. • Complimentary self-parking passes • Two VIP beverage coupons Da Camera In The Schools • Plus benefits associated with the $250 level Da Camera offers a range of educational programs in Houston area schools. $250 Performer Music Encounters - residencies linking music with language arts, • Subscription to Chamber Music or visual arts, history, science and math Down Beat magazine Rhythm Residencies - music educator Samuel Dinkins III • Plus benefits associated with the $100 level introducing students to rhythm $100 Member Monarch School - residency for children with neurological • 10% discount on all Da Camera merchandise differences including autism • Recognition in all season program books for Board President Paul Landen and wife Carolyn Landen with one year Da Camera Young Artist Program pianist and composer Jason Moran. Da Camera's professional training program for emerging musicians provides career-expanding experiences and training to the next generation of artists. Education and Community Initiatives As a Da Camera Subscriber, Free concerts. School programs. Young Artist Professional Training. You’ll Enjoy Superb Concerts and Valuable Benefits. Master classes. Community residencies. Da Camera presents an extensive variety of programs intended to enhance the Flexibility Free Parking For Full Season Subscribers appreciation of chamber music and jazz, to make music a part of everyday life and to prepare Can’t make it to a concert? Full Season series subscribers receive free parking in young musicians for a life of community engagement. Get all the details at dacamera.com Exchange to any other – even a concert outside the Alley Theatre garage. your series! A Little Day Music Discounts On Additional Tickets Save 20% on any additional tickets you purchase. Free concerts the first Wednesday of the month The Best Seats Subscribers get the very best reserved seats. at noon at Wortham Theater Center. Early Purchase Of Additional Tickets Renewing subscribers move up when better seats Oct. 4, Nov. 1, Dec. 6, 2017 and Feb. 7, March 7, Apr. 4, May 2, 2018 Subscribers are offered the opportunity to purchase become available. single tickets before they go on sale to the public. Stop, Look & Listen! at The Menil Collection Art and music interact in these popular free programs at Savings Advance Program Notes Save up to 40% off single ticket prices! The Menil Collection on Saturday afternoons. Da Camera offers subscribers advance program Wild Card notes by email. Da Camera Pop-up Concerts A free ticket to any concert—bring a friend or try Chamber music and jazz performances presented at Free Da Camera Merchandise Coupon something new! the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Galveston Artist Residency, Choose a Da Camera composer mug or another item community centers, hospitals and more. . chosen specifically for Da Camera subscribers. Da Camera Jam At Discovery Green Free concerts Thursday evenings in April at the downtown Get Additional Benefits When You Add a Donation park celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month. $2,500 Ensemble – With Private $1,000 Composer Stay tuned for details! House Concerts • Valet parking Jazz Homecoming Residencies • Invitation to private house concerts throughout the • Private intermission and post-concert Carrying on the community work that began with the season including: receptions with selected artists Jason Moran Homecoming Residency, Houston native • Jazz pianist Robert Glasper • Reserved priority seating for Menil Collection jazz musicians Robert Glasper, Eric Harland and Helen Sung • Violinist Geoff Nuttall of St. Lawrence String Quartet concerts engage with students during their homecoming visits. • Pianist Sarah Rothenberg, Artistic and General Director • VIP ticket purchase and exchange service • Listing on Ensemble Member page in program book • Plus benefits associated with the $500 level Mentors In Music Master Classes • Plus benefits associated with the $1,000 level Renowned chamber music and jazz artists coach $500 Improviser local high school and university music students. • Complimentary self-parking passes • Two VIP beverage coupons Da Camera In The Schools • Plus benefits associated with the $250 level Da Camera offers a range of educational programs in Houston area schools. $250 Performer Music Encounters - residencies linking music with language arts, • Subscription to Chamber Music or visual arts, history, science and math Down Beat magazine Rhythm Residencies - music educator Samuel Dinkins III • Plus benefits associated with the $100 level introducing students to rhythm $100 Member Monarch School - residency for children with neurological • 10% discount on all Da Camera merchandise differences including autism • Recognition in all season program books for Board President Paul Landen and wife Carolyn Landen with one year Da Camera Young Artist Program pianist and composer Jason Moran. Da Camera's professional training program for emerging musicians provides career-expanding experiences and training to the next generation of artists. Return to: Da Camera, 1402 Sul Ross, Houston, TX 77006 2017-2018 SUBSCRIPTION OR fax your order to 713-524-4148 OR scan this form ORDER FORM and email it to: [email protected]

Phone: 713-524-5050 CHOOSE YOUR SERIES Online: www.dacamera.com Name AND ORDER TODAY! In Person: Da Camera, 1402 Sul Ross, Houston 77006 THREE WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE NOW! Questions? Address Call or email us at [email protected] City State Zip Da Camera 2017/2018 Series and Prices Phone day evening Email: Series Price Zone A Price Zone B Price Zone C Select your Series: Full Season $594 $477 $306 Full Season Chamber Music Jazz Menil Orchestra (All 18 concerts ) Mezzanine

Build Your Own Series* (List 6 to 9 concerts by title or date.) Da Camera Chamber Music $440 $319 $253 (All 11 classical concerts) 1. 2. Da Camera Jazz $350 $308 $231 (All 7 jazz concerts) 3. 4.

Da Camera Jazz Add On: $ 50 $ 40 $ 30 (Add on Opening Night 5. 6. Harlem Quartet program)

7. 8. 9. Da Camera at The Menil $250 General Admission Plus Poetry and Music Fill in the details: (5 events: All 4 events at The Menil plus Poetry and Music at MATCH) @ $ = $ Build Your Own Series* $330 $288 $210 Price Zone Quantity Price Total (Select at least 6 concerts or add up to 3 more at the following prices) $ 55 $ 48 $ 35 I added additional concerts to the Build Your Own series.* @ $ = $ All artists and programs are subject to change. I am a jazz subscriber and I am adding on tickets:* Prices include applicable City of Houston and Theater District surcharges. . Da Camera supporters include: Add on Opening Night @ $ = $ Price Zones The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Cullen Foundation, Harlem Quartet program Wortham Center Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, Houston Endowment, Nightingale Code Foundation, Lynne Murray, Sr. I know the price of my subscription covers only a small part of the $ Educational Foundation and The Wortham Foundation. cost of the program. Here is my tax-deductible contribution. Support also comes from The National Endowment for the Arts, and Texas Commission on the Arts. Funded in part by I want valet parking at the Wortham Center and the Hobby Center the City of Houston. and reserved seats at The Menil. I am adding a $1,000 $ tax-deductible contribution for Composer Membership. Processing fee $ 10 Grand Total $ Method of Payment: My check payable to Da Camera enclosed; or

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Expiration Date 3 or 4 digit security code Return to: Da Camera, 1402 Sul Ross, Houston, TX 77006 2017-2018 SUBSCRIPTION OR fax your order to 713-524-4148 OR scan this form ORDER FORM and email it to: [email protected]

Build Your Own Series* (List 6 to 9 concerts by title or date.) Da Camera Chamber Music $440 $319 $253 (All 11 classical concerts) 1. 2. Da Camera Jazz $350 $308 $231 (All 7 jazz concerts) 3. 4.

Da Camera Jazz Add On: $ 50 $ 40 $ 30 (Add on Opening Night 5. 6. Harlem Quartet program)

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Subscribe now and enjoy Da Camera’s signature variety of chamber music and jazz. 2017/2018 season features: Harlem Quartet Robert Glasper Experiment Charles Ives’s America with pianist Jeremy Denk Sérgio and Odair Assad, guitars and Avi Avital, mandolin Pianist Garrick Ohlsson Brad Mehldau Trio Juilliard String Quartet Dianne Reeves and many more outstanding chamber music and jazz musicians and ensembles. “daring programs that serve as a gathering spot for music lovers to Subscribe online at www.dacamera.com meet other like-minded friends, an avenue to discover remarkable or call 713-524-5050 artists and music genres” – culturemap.com