Mid-Summer 2024 Issue

ON FRIDAY, JAN. 27 at MATCH, Houston new-music ensemble Aperio, Music of the Americas, now in its 17th season, returns to the Latin American-rooted programming of its early years with “Hot Buttered Rumba,” a selection of chamber music by Miguel del Aguila, John Mackey, Argentinean tango and bandoneon master Astor Piazzolla, and Robert X. Rodriguez — four composers who draw inspiration from North, Central and South American rhythms and folk music. With no percussionist onstage, it’s up to Aperio artistic director and pianist Michael Zuraw and eight guest instrumentalists to infuse the music with the energy and drama found in grooves and musical styles born outside of the concert hall, without sacrificing the attention to detail and technique required when playing Western classical repertoire.