Mercury Chamber Orchestra Premieres HÉMISPHÈRES, Denis Plante's Cross Continental Creation
Hémisphères invites audiences into a sound world where continents, cultures, and musical eras converge.
Mercury Chamber Orchestra has announced Hémisphères, a visionary new program created for the ensemble by acclaimed bandoneonist Denis Plante, in collaboration with his brother, Mercury's Artistic Director Antoine Plante.
As the opening chapter of Denis' artist residency with Mercury, Hémisphères invites audiences into a sound world where continents, cultures, and musical eras converge.
At the heart of Hémisphères is the bandoneon, a voice often associated with the cafés and street corners of Argentina though this time woven into the textures of Mercury's period instruments. The result is a musical landscape that feels at once ancient and immediate, cosmopolitan and intimate. Denis Plante's compositions and arrangements move with ease between hemispheres, blending Baroque sensibilities with tango-influenced rhythms, folkloric color, and contemporary narrative clarity.
“It's a meeting place,” says Denis Plante. “A place where history, and imagination all coexist. Mercury embraces musical risk with such generosity that Hémisphères could only have been born here.”
The program marks an artistic reunion between Denis and Antoine Plante, two brothers whose shared musical language spans decades. Together, they craft a dialogue that is both deeply personal and artistically daring, one that expands what a historically informed orchestra can sound like in the 21st century.
“Hémisphères brings a new palette to Mercury,” says Antoine Plante. “Denis has the ability to transform the familiar into something unexpected. His music challenges us, but it also welcomes us. It speaks to audiences with immediacy and warmth.” The program bridges artistic traditions without compromising the integrity of any one of them, offering Houston audiences a concert experience unlike anything else in the city's classical landscape.
Hémisphères
Saturday, January 10, 2026, 8 PM
Cullen theater at the Wortham
Tickets for Downtown Series Concerts start at just $25.
Featured Artists:
Denis Plante, bandoneon
Stéphane Tetreault, Cello
Program:
Gardel, Por Una Cabeza
Salgán, A Fuego Lento
Pugliese, La Yumba
Piazzolla, Escualo
Ginastera, Danzas Argentinas, No. 2
Villa-Lobos, Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 - Ária - Dança
de Falla, Danza Ritual del Fuego
Grieg, String Quartet in G minor - Mvt. 1
Sibelius, Valse Triste
Pärt, Fratres
D. Plante, Noctango, Orchestral Suite for Bandoneon, Cello and String Orchestra (World Premiere)
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