“ I wanted to create a new form of art, an art completely irrelevant to the usual theories… ” - Loië Fuller, 1914
Turn-of-the-century Paris was a hotbed of artistic innovation, and cabarets were the furnaces where this innovation was forged. It was here that poets, musicians, painters and bohemians of all sorts rubbed shoulders and laid the groundwork for the expressionist, abstract and modernist movements that continue to shape our culture today. And it was here that an American-born dancer, choreographer and light designer dazzled audiences, inspired artists from Toulouse-Lautrec to Yeats, and redefined modern dance, only to be largely forgotten in the decades that followed. This spring, Musiqa and Stages proudly shine an overdue spotlight on pioneering artist Loie Fuller with the world premiere of a new chamber opera by renowned composer Laura Schwendinger.Read more
For this chamber music concert, Eric will be joined by Houston Symphony Principal cellist, Brinton Smith and – a very special guest – pianist, Dr. Ayke Agus . At age 21, Dr. Agus became a violin student of the legendary Jascha Heifetz at USC. Realizing that she was equally talented at the piano Mr. Heifetz insisted that she become the class pianist as well. This began a 16 year association, during which Ayke was friend, confidant and pianist for Mr. Heifetz, playing together with him for hours every day and working together to complete several of his iconic transcriptions. Brinton, who has worked with Ayke frequently, describes her as "almost a living time capsule of the playing of the golden era," saying "Ayke learned at the side of one of the greatest musicians in history, and you hear that long lost style and nuance reborn the moment she touches the keyboard."Read more
