MUSIC

Continuing with the 09/10 Season, Mercury Baroque, one of the country’s foremost period instrument orchestras, presents L'Estro Armonico: The Genius of Harmony, performing Vivaldi’s L’Estro Armonico on March 27th at 8:00pm in the Wortham Center, Cullen Theater.

L’Estro Armonico, translating to “harmonic inspiration” in Italian, is the name given by Antonio Vivaldi to his set of 12 concertos for 1, 2, or 4 violin soloists. Composed in 1711, the set of concertos is often regarded by scholars as some of the finest and most important instrumental music of the 18th century.

“Although this music doesn’t have the name recognition as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the music should be equally familiar to many listeners,” says Antoine Plante, Mercury Baroque’s Artistic Director. “It is music you don’t know that you really know.” Antoine Plante has chosen 9 of the 12 concertos from L’Estro Armonico for Mercury to perform in March. “These concertos brilliantly showcase not only the technique and musicality of the soloists, but the musical virtuosity of the whole ensemble”, says Plante.

The featured soloists represent part of Mercury’s core musicians, including Jonathan Godfrey, Noel Martin, Oleg Sulyga and Hae-a Lee on Violin, and Barrett Sills, Cello.

In Addition to our Houston performance in the Cullen Theater on March 27th, Mercury will be bringing its L’Estro Armonico performance to The Woodlands on March 25 at The John Cooper School Performing Arts Center. This will be the second of Mercury’s 09/10 Season performances in The Woodlands with the orchestra having performed Handel’s Messiah there last December.

“The acoustics at The John Cooper School are excellent and extremely well suited for this type of music,” says Plante. “An important part of Mercury’s mission is sharing our music with audiences outside of Houston. We received a warm and enthusiastic welcome in The Woodlands with Handel’s Messiah and we look forward to sharing these brilliant Concertos by Vivaldi with them in March.” Tickets for Mercury Baroque’s performance in The Woodlands range from $20 to $35 and can also be purchased online at www.mercurybaroque.org  or by phone at 713-533-0080.

Schedule of Performances.
March 27, 2010 at 8:00pm
Wortham Center, Cullen Theater

March 25, 2010 at 8:00pm
The John Cooper School, The Woodlands, TX

March 26, 2010 at 8:00pm
The University of Houston Clear Lake

Mercury Baroque has been a dynamic member of the Houston arts community since 2000. Founded as a chamber ensemble, the group has grown into a Baroque orchestra performing a full subscription season of concerts in downtown Houston and touring both domestically and internationally. The organization continues to pursue its goal of building a strong tradition of Baroque music performance in Houston, starting with its educational outreach programs designed to train the city’s future musicians and create the audience of the future. Although Mercury is focused on bringing the best Baroque to Houston, the ensemble has toured to other countries as well, including two tours to Quito, Ecuador. In September, 2010, Mercury will revive its popular performance of Lully’s opera Armide in Paris. The 2010-2011 Season will be Mercury’s important 10th Season.

Pictured:  Mercury Baroque.  Photo by George Hixson.