Violinist

Artistic Director

**Fugal Games: A Celebration of Baroque Mastery**

Join Ars Lyrica Houston for an enchanting afternoon of Baroque music with the much-anticipated concert, "Fugal Games," on Saturday, January 13, 2024, at 4 pm. This remarkable event will take place in the Duncan Recital Hall at The Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, located at 6100 Main St, Houston, TX 77005.

"Fugal Games" delves into the enigmatic and quintessentially Baroque art of fugue, celebrating the release of Artistic Director Matthew Dirst’s new book on Bach’s "Art of Fugue" and "Musical Offering." These compositions represent the pinnacle of learned counterpoint, and the concert will feature significant excerpts from both, alongside miniature marvels by George Philipp Telemann, providing a rich context for Bach's masterworks.

**Artistic Personnel:**
- Colin St-Martin on traverso & recorder
- Elizabeth Blumenstock on violin & viola
- Stephen Redfield on violin
- Sydney ZumMallen on cello
- Matthew Dirst on harpsichord & as the artistic director

The concert promises an immersive experience into the world of Baroque music, with a special focus on the fugal form, a technique that has fascinated composers and audiences alike for centuries. Following the performance, attendees will have the unique opportunity to engage in a short book talk and Q&A session with all the artists, offering deeper insights into the music and its historical significance.

**Program Highlights:**
- J.S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D major BWV 874 and selections from the Musical Offering BWV 1079
- G.P. Telemann's Sonata VI from the Canons mélodieux TWV 40 and Fantasie in F Minor TWV 40:16
- An exploration of Bach's Art of Fugue BWV 1080

The concert will not be livestreamed, ensuring an exclusive experience for those in attendance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority seating for 6-concert subscribers. Student tickets are available at a discounted rate with the use of a promo code and valid student ID.

Prepare for an afternoon of "Fugal Games" that promises to be a profound exploration of Baroque music's depth and beauty, led by the talented ensemble of Ars Lyrica Houston. This event is a must-attend for lovers of classical music and those intrigued by the intricate art of the fugue.

Fugal Games

The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University

Our 47th season kicks off with Ensemble Mirable, who offer us a treasure trove of underappreciated Baroque favorites. Pieces composed by somewhat familiar names such as Dieterich Buxtehude and Arcangelo Corelli are combined with those by Biagio Marini, Jean Zewalt Triemer, Sylvius Leopold Weiss, Dietrich Becker, Andrea Falconieri, and many, many more to create a fascinating mosaic of Baroque masterworks.

EPSG:4326

Ensemble Mirable

First Congregational Church of Berkeley

First Presbyterian Church

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

The faculty mentors of the American Bach Academy represent the highest echelon of Baroque musicians/scholars, each one an accomplished performer with highest international standing. Members of ensembles worldwide as well as having prolific recording discographies, they bring their skills, insights, and expertise to Academy participants. These concerts present opportunities for their students and protégés, along with public audiences, to hear these wonderful moments of collaboration.

Faculty Concerts

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Who needs a large orchestra when you can bring across the magic of Mozart’s Symphony Concertante with just a string quartet, bass and two soloists? In this case, star VMMF Laureates Rachell Ellen Wong and Andrew Gonzalez take the solo parts in an arrangement for string sextet. Excerpts of a string quartet by Florence Price and an arrangement of Ravel’s thrilling “La Valse” for four-hands piano round out the program.

The Concerto as Chamber Music: Price, Ravel & Mozart

Hanna Boys Center

Mozart’s Piano Quartets are written like concertos: the piano is featured, accompanied by a sort of “mini orchestra” of 3 string players. We are thrilled to feature Laureate Axel Trolese as the “soloist” with three generations of early music experts in the accompanying roles. True to this year’s theme, the program ends with an arrangement of Beethoven’s 2nd Symphony for Piano Trio by the composer himself. On an 18th-century fortepiano you can really hear the trumpets and drums!

The Symphony as a Trio: Mozart & Beethoven

Chamber music by Stradella, Vitali, Gabrieli, Purcell, Vivaldi, Pisendel and Froberger.

Jamason, Reed, and Blumenstock

This virtuosic tribute to Antonio Vivaldi, the famous “Red Priest” of Venice, features breathtaking concerti from this pioneer of the genre, colorful arias from a 1735 operatic pastiche, and his beloved setting of the Stabat Mater for solo voice and strings.

Red Priest of Venice

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

The galant styles of High Baroque and Rococo music join hands in the mature works by Bach and Rameau. The Missa in A Major is a curious amalgam of the traditional and contemporary, featuring a pair of a relatively “new” instrument on the scene, the flauto traverso. And the ornate wizardry of Rameau's theatrical Dardanus brought the opera acclaim as one of his greatest compositions. A glance back to the Italian roots of the Baroque is revealed in Handel's and Vivaldi's concertos.

Barococo

War Memorial and Performing Arts Center

A warm welcome back to Dutch soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg, who first performed at the Festival in 2018 in the role of Angelica in the semi-staged performance of Handel’s Orlando. Josefien is joined by the exciting young Canadian countertenor Nicholas Burns—who regularly performs across Europe and North America—for some truly divine music, including the famous aria “Piangerò” from Giulio Cesare and duet “Io t’abbraccio” from Rodelinda.

The Festival’s artistic director Elizabeth Blumenstock provides lively and entertaining narrative throughout the performance to share the stories of the opera extracts.

Festival Finale: A Handel Gala

St. Mark Presbyterian Church

A wide-ranging instrumental concert of dances from the British Isles, the New World, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Austria, showcasing the variety and richness in Baroque-era dance music. Perhaps you remember the joyous “Dancing in the Isles” program in 2016? Come for more toe-tapping traditional medleys and artful suites on Friday night, making the most of the excellent acoustics at St. Michael and All Angels in Corona del Mar. A Friday night like no other!

The Joy of the Dance

Saint Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church

Our soloists who traditionally perform on Friday in the Gardens instead appear midweek this year, in an entire evening of brilliant concertos by Bach, Vivaldi and others, plus Telemann’s Triple Concerto in E Major for flute, oboe d’amore and viola d’amore.

Concertos in the Gardens

Sherman Library and Gardens

Welcome back Festival supporters! Welcome back Festival Orchestra! We open the 42nd season with a resounding return to Baroque orchestral music by luminaries J.S. Bach, Vivaldi and Telemann.

Many Happy Returns

Beloved Bay Area favorites Cynthia Keiko Black (violin), Elizabeth Blumenstock (violin), Corey Jamason (harpsichord), and Elisabeth Reed (viola da gamba) join together for a dynamic program of deeply expressive chamber music from 17th-century Germany and Austria. Enjoy music for solo and duo violins, viola da gamba, and harpsichord by Dietrich Becker, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Dieterich Buxtehude, Johann Jakob Froberger, Johann Pachelbel, and Johann Heinrich Schmelzer.

Elizabeth Blumenstock

Violinist, Artistic Director

Events

Jan 13, 2024

Fugal Games · Ars Lyrica Houston

Sep 29 - Oct 1, 2023

Ensemble Mirable · San Francisco Early Music Society

5 - 11 Aug, 2023

Faculty Concerts · American Bach Soloists

Jul 22, 2023

The Concerto as Chamber Music: Price, Ravel & Mozart · Valley of the Moon Music Festival

Jul 15, 2023

The Symphony as a Trio: Mozart & Beethoven · Valley of the Moon Music Festival

About

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