Beethoven for All: Piano Sonatas Part I
Photo courtesy of DACAMERA
DACAMERA’s popular free Beethoven for All series returns!
Twenty sonatas spanning Beethoven’s lifetime - some of the most thrillingly inventive piano music ever composed, performed by leading Houston pianists at the Menil Collection beginning on December 4 and culminating in an afternoon marathon at Rothko Chapel on Beethoven’s birthday, Saturday, December 16.
Pianists Andrew Staupe and Dr. Mei Rui kick off DACAMERA’s free Beethoven for All series on December 4 with sonatas including Beethoven’s first, the Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2, No. 1.
Andrew Staupe
Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2, No. 1
Sonata No. 25 in G Major, Op. 79
Sonata No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 1
Dr. Mei Rui
Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp Major, Op. 78
Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, “Appassionata”
About the performers:
Pianist Andrew Staupe is emerging as one of the distinctive voices of a new generation of pianists. Andrew has appeared as soloist with the Baltimore Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Utah Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, and many other orchestras throughout the United States. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors Osmo Vänskä, Bobby McFerrin, Jahja Ling, Gerard Schwarz, Andrew Litton, Cristian Macelaru, Larry Rachleff, Lucas Richman, Rossen Milanov, Daniel Hege, and Josep-Caballé Domenech, and has performed across the United States and extensively in Europe. An avid chamber musician, Andrew is a part of the newly-formed Trio Magnoliana, with violinist Mann-Wen Lo and cellist Eunghee Cho.
Dr. Mei Rui is a Yale-trained molecular biochemist and an internationally award-winning concert pianist. Medalist of the World Piano Competition in 2015, Dr. Rui was praised by the Boston Globe as a “riveting” virtuoso, and by Boston Musical Intelligencer as a concert artist with “deeply felt and intense musicality.” Her recent performances include all the Rachmaninoff Concerti with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Yale Philharmonic, World Doctors Orchestra, and TMC Orchestra. As a principal investigator, Dr. Rui is a pioneer in the field of Music Medicine. She is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and the Director of the Music-in-Medicine Initiative at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Attending the program:
This program takes place in the main building, located at 1533 Sul Ross Street. Additional information regarding accessibility and parking can be found here.
As always, Menil programs are free and open to all.