MUSIC

Da Camera of Houston presents The Spirit of England.   Friday, February 12, 2010; 8:00 PM,  in the Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center.

Three gems of the British chamber music repertoire are featured in this English tribute: Vaughan Williams’s atmospheric settings of A.E. Housman poems, Elgar’s majestic Piano Quintet and Britten's expressive Phantasy Quartet. Tenor Andrew Kennedy, known for his dramatic performances in song and opera, and celebrated rising-star Orion Weiss make their Da Camera debuts.

“[Andrew Kennedy is] a singer of wide, lustrous tone and striking dramatic prowess” —The Times of London

“[Orion Weiss] played with scintillating charm…All the necessary responses to the music came naturally - charm, pliant phrasing, dazzling speed in fast-movement runs.”—Houston Chronicle

Scheduled Program:

Vaughan Williams On Wenlock Edge
Elgar Piano Quintet in A Minor, Op. 84
Britten Phantasy Quartet in F Minor, Op. 2

Andrew Kennedy, tenor; Robert Atherholt, oboe; Laurie Smukler, violin; Kyung-Sun Lee, violin; Wayne Brooks, viola; Brinton Avril Smith, cello; Orion Weiss, piano.

Pictured:  Orion Weiss.  Photo by Henry Fair.