DACAMERA Presents MUSIC AND ISOLATION: Aizuri Quartet At The Menil 

DACAMERA continues its 2019-2020 series of intimate concerts at the Menil Collection with Music and Isolation, two performances by the Aizuri Quartet on Monday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Founded in 2012 and based in New York City, the Aizuri Quartet is Miho Saegusa, violin; Emma Frucht, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; and Karen Ouzounian, cello. The Grammy Award- nominated ensemble has performed extensively throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America, garnering critical acclaim for imaginative performances that showcase the artists' technical bravado and emotional power.

For their DACAMERA debut, the quartet will perform a selection of works from composers who wrote during times of extreme isolation. For these five featured composers-Hildegard von Bingen, Ludwig van Beethoven, Carlo Gesualdo, Joseph Haydn and Conlon Nancarrow- isolation provided opportunities to funnel undivided energy into their craft, resulting in experimentation and uncompromising musical vision.

The program, which will be repeated on both evenings, marries the colorful plainsong of von Bingen's Columba aspexit with the darkly expressive harmony of Gesualdo's Madrigals; the tongue-in-cheek wit of Haydn's String Quartet No. 49 in B Minor, Op. 64, No. 2; the balance zany and confounding in Nancarrow's String Quartet No. 3; and the chaos that pushes sonic limits in Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131.

DACAMERA's chamber music series continues with American Mavericks: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet on Friday, Feb. 21 and Folk Inspiration on Monday, Feb. 24 & Tuesday, Feb. 25.

Tickets for Music and Isolation: Aizuri Quartet are $60 and are available by contacting DACAMERA, 1402 Sul Ross, at 713-524-5050 or online at www.dacamera.com. Tickets for students and senior citizens are always half-price. $5 student rush tickets are available 30 minutes before the concert begins.

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