Back to List
Spring Digital Season
28 New Digital Programs, April 1 – July 1
Dedicated to Gustave M. Hauser
Composers in Focus with Joan Tower (May 10)
New Milestones Concert with Music by
Malika Kishino, Patrick Castillo, Thomas Meadowcroft and Juri Seo (Apr 8)
International Quartets Livestreamed from the Rose Studio: Orion (Apr 15), Emerson (May 20), Escher (June 10) String Quartets
Musical Heritage Webinar Series Celebrates
Pablo Casals (Apr 5) and Leon Fleisher (May 24)
Bruce Adolphe Returns with Inside Chamber Music Lectures
New York: March 2, 2021 — The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) announces an exciting Spring season of digital offerings from April 1 to July 1, which is dedicated to the late Gustave M. Hauser. CMS presents 28 digital programs, with concerts premiering on Thursday evenings at 7:30 and educational and hybrid talk-and-performance programs premiering on Monday evenings.
CMS dedicates this Spring season to the digital media pioneer Gustave M. Hauser who died at age 91 on February 14. He launched CMS’s global digital media program from Alice Tully Hall in 2014 through the Hauser Foundation, and throughout the pandemic, audiences around the world have been reaping the benefits of the extensive digital archive CMS has been able to create. Through his vision and generosity, CMS had been an early entrant into the field of high-definition concert recording, which left the organization well-prepared to address the digital content and know-how needed to sustain audiences during the pandemic.
David Finckel, Co-Artistic Director of CMS said, “In February of 2020 none of us could have imagined the year that was to come. When concert halls were shuttered in March, we knew that doing nothing was not an option; we needed to keep the music alive for our audiences and our musicians. We found ways to create income for our musicians, and we’re sending our work out more widely than ever before to music lovers around the world.”
Including this slate of 28 new offerings, CMS will have presented 117 digital programs since the beginning of the pandemic in March. CMS has also brought these concerts, through its Front Row: National initiative, to nearly 60 chamber music presenters around North America, who have presented or scheduled nearly 400 local streaming events to their audiences.
“We know we are reaching more people than ever,” said Wu Han, Co-Artistic Director of CMS. “We see it in the engagement numbers around our website and streaming programs.” Since March, traffic to the CMS website has more than doubled, as have visits from new users, and the number of people staying on the website for longer than 30 minutes has more than tripled. A reinvigorated social media campaign to promote the programming has drawn six times as many people to the CMS website as it did during the same period last year.
Since the pandemic shuttered concert halls in March 2020, David Finckel and Wu Han have created a robust new series of Front Row digital concerts by applying their curatorial acumen to the vast CMS archive of HD video to create exciting and unusual concerts. As it has become safe to do so, they have also invited artists to record performances safely in the Rose Studio or elsewhere (the Danish String Quartet did a CMS concert from Copenhagen earlier this year) for streaming on CMS platforms.
The vast majority of CMS’s digital offerings are provided free of charge; viewers must register for free access to selected programs. Viewing passes are required for two series: International Quartets ($25) and Inside Chamber Music ($15).
New Music: Composers in Focus & New Milestones
Composers in Focus gives audiences a rare opportunity to sit in on intimate conversations between composers and musicians who know each other’s work, and in some cases have known each other for decades. The webinar-style series, which has welcomed four women composers this season, concludes with the hugely influential American composer, performer, conductor and educator Joan Tower on May 10, at 6:30 pm, when she talks with violist Paul Neubauer and bassoonist Peter Kolkay about her life and work.
This season’s New Milestones series, which has featured a diverse array of more than a dozen composers, concludes on April 8 with music by Malika Kishino, Patrick Castillo, Thomas Meadowcroft, and Juri Seo. These digital concerts include musical performances enhanced by cinematic elements that evoke the concert’s themes, and coupled with conversations with the composers.
International Quartets – LIVE from the Rose Studio
The International Quartets series presents three American quartets this spring: the Orion String Quartet on April 15 with a program of Haydn and Beethoven; the Emerson String Quartet on May 20, performing works by Shostakovich, Beethoven, and Webern; and the Escher String Quartet, one of the first ensembles to participate in what is now the Bowers Program for emerging artists, on June 10 (rescheduled from the fall), in a program of Bartók and Sibelius. These concerts are being streamed LIVE in Lincoln Center’s Rose Studio. Viewing passes are $25 and available here.
Unique Education Programs on Monday Evenings
“Education has always been a fundamental part of the mission at CMS. And ironically,” said David Finckel, “this online, ‛virtual’ concert season, which has kept us physically apart, has also made space for us to bring our musicians and audiences a bit closer together. This season, we’ve really focused on ways to have intimate discussions that offer a variety of ways for audiences see behind the curtain and get to know the musicians better. We can’t wait to get back into the concert hall, and when we do, I think we’ll all benefit from the conversations we’ve had in the meantime.”
The Musical Heritage series explores towering figures in classical music and brings them to life through exceptional conversations with the artist’s students and colleagues, along with film clips, historical photos, and relevant documents. This hugely popular, free webinar series streams live on Monday evenings, and is then available on-demand on the CMS website starting Friday of the week following its premiere. (The most recent episode, on the Guarneri Quartet, attracted over 1,800 registrants for the live stream, and sign-ups continue for the recorded program available on-demand.) On April 5, cellist and CMS Co-Artistic Director David Finckel leads a panel of distinguished musicians to explore the great Catalan cellist Pablo Casals (1876-1973) – a singularly influential musician and a remarkable man. On May 24, the series turns to the American pianist Leon Fleisher with pianist Gloria Chien and violinist Soovin Kim; Fleisher was one of the great pianists of his generation, leaving an extraordinary legacy despite a hand injury at age 36.
The Art of Interpretation series combines discussion and performance elements to delve into great works from the musicians’ perspective. The series provides a fascinating look at how artists arrive at their interpretations of specific musical passages and how they prepare to perform a piece of music. On April 19, pianists Gilles Vonstattel and Wu Han (Co-Artistic Director of CMS) perform and discuss works composed and inspired by French women: Louise Farrenc’s Air russe varié for Piano (1835), and Lili Boulanger’s Trois Morceaux for Piano (1914), as well as music by Debussy, Fauré, and Ravel. On June 14, violinist Paul Huang and pianist Michael Brown discuss and perform two of Prokofiev’s Sonatas for violin and piano.
Inside Chamber Music, with composer, radio personality and CMS Resident Lecturer Bruce Adolphe, is a popular, long-running CMS lecture-and-performance series that explores the chamber music repertoire and provides audiences with new insights on beloved masterworks. In eight new programs recorded in the Rose Studio, Adolphe is joined by CMS artists to examine music by Mozart and Haydn and four French chamber works by Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, and Lili Boulanger. As always, the lectures approach the music from a compositional viewpoint and address relevant historical and aesthetic issues and are accompanied by short performances. Viewing passes are $15 and available here.
Newly Curated Concerts from the Archives, Thursdays at 7:30 pm
Each concert in the Artist Series delves into the work of a particular artist, beginning with a newly-created short documentary film that provides an intimate and informative window into the life of the featured artist, followed by performances drawn from the CMS archive. This spring, the Artist Series celebrates the cellist Paul Watkins on April 22, violinist Ida Kavafian on May 6, and pianist Gilles Vonsattel on June 17.
The Mainstage Series gives audiences a chance to hear anew performances from the vast CMS archive, in concerts that often mix ensembles and repertoire in a way that would be daunting, if not impossible, to do live in the concert hall. The concerts in this series also include newly-recorded intermission chats with one or more of the artists on each program. On April 1, “Surprising Piano Quartets” offers a program of two lesser-known, rarely-performed quartets, one by Mendelssohn and one by Strauss. On April 29, the focus shifts to “Monumental Trios” with two masterworks of the trio repertoire for piano, violin, and cello: Beethoven’s Trio in E-flat major and Brahms’s Trio in B major. “International Voices,” on May 13, presents works by three composers who brought strikingly different cultural influences to bear on their music: Ibert, Janáček, and Rachmaninov. On May 27, “Everybody Loves the Cello” offers music by Fauré, Gilère, Golijov, and Arensky, as well as a 12-cello ensemble performing Rachmaninov’s “Lord, Now Lettest Thou Thy Servant Depart in Peace,” arranged for cellos from All-Night Vigil. On June 3, “Metamorphosis” offers up a program that takes audiences from Strauss’s somber, elegiac post-WWI Metamorphosen (in an arrangement for string septet) to Mozart’s “Dissonance” Quartet, a work named for the famously dark and “dissonant” opening, but which eventually finds its way to a much brighter and more typically “Mozartean” sound. On June 24, CMS presents “Bohemian Masters,” a concert of music by two composers whose musical lineage goes back to Dvořák: Josef Suk, Dvořák’s student and son-in-law (and an important violinist in his own right) and Suk’s student, Bohuslav Martinů. The final concert in this spring-into-summer digital season, “Carnival of Concertos,” on July 1, presents two rarely programmed chamber works featuring soloists, both of which deserve to be heard more often: Mozart’s Concerto No. 12 for Piano and String Quintet and Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto for Violin, Piano, and Strings.
For Families
On Sunday, April 18, CMS Kids Online presents “Playful Pieces,” a live, interactive one-hour Zoom session for families and their children, ages 3-6, featuring pre-recorded performances and live, participatory musical games. The online event will be hosted by guitarist Rami Vamos, with violinist Nurit Pacht.
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Spring Digital Season
April 1 to July 1, 2021
Surprising Piano Quartets
Thursday, April 1, 2021, 7:30 pm
Mendelssohn Quartet in C minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 1 (1822)
Wu Qian, piano; Chad Hoopes, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Gary Hoffman, cello
--INTERMISSION (discussion with the artists)--
Strauss Quartet in C minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 13 (1883-84)
Wu Qian, piano; Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Yura Lee, viola; Gary Hoffman, cello
Musical Heritage: Pablo Casals
Monday, April 5, 2021, 7:30 pm
The great Catalan cellist Pablo Casals (1876-1973) stands alone as arguably the most influential and universally revered instrumentalist of all time. The first cellist in history to recognize Bach’s Six Solo Suites as great music, and the first to record them, is only one of the musical milestones of this extraordinary man, who not only dominated cello playing for more than half a century, but also served as an uncompromising and indisputable voice of social conscience. In this exploration of Casals the musician and the man, cellist and CMS Co-Artistic Director David Finckel leads a panel of distinguished musicians -- Dmitri Atapine, Arnold Steinhardt, Jaime Laredo, and Timothy Eddy -- who, either through direct contact or inherited influence, have been changed by the art of Casals forever.
New Milestones 4: Time (Stillness, Movement, and Memory)
Thursday, April 8, 2021, 7:30 pm
Performances in this program have been newly recorded for this concert, except for those indicated with a double asterisk (**), which have been drawn from the CMS archive.
Malika Kishino Monochromer Garten VI for Viola (2015)
Matthew Lipman, viola
**Patrick Castillo Incident for Violin and Piano (2015)
Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Wu Qian, piano
**Thomas Meadowcroft Cradles for Percussion Duo with Wurlitzer e-Piano (2013)
Ayano Kataoka, Ian David Rosenbaum, percussion; David Adamcyk, electronic sound
Juri Seo #three for Piano, Percussion, and Bass (2015)
Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Ian David Rosenbaum, percussion; Brendan Kane, bass
Inside Chamber Music: Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Piano
Monday, April 12, 2021, 7:30 pm
Inside Chamber Music, with composer, radio personality and CMS Resident Lecturer Bruce Adolphe, explores the chamber music repertoire and provides audiences with new insights on great masterworks. In this lecture, Adolphe is joined by CMS artists to examine Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. With Ravel’s reputation as a leading composer in France in jeopardy -- his style was considered old-fashioned -- he deliberately issued a more modern aesthetic statement with this bold, elegant, and humorous sonata. From Stravinsky to Jazz, Ravel seized upon a variety of musical ideas, made them his own, and kept it completely French.
Ravel Sonata for Violin and Piano (1923-27)
Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano
International Quartet Series: Orion Quartet
Thursday, April 15, 2021, 7:30 pm
Live from the Rose Studio at Lincoln Center
Haydn Quartet in C major for Strings, Hob. III:32, Op. 20, No. 2 (1772)
Orion String Quartet (Daniel Phillips, Todd Phillips, violin; Steven Tenenbom, viola; Timothy Eddy, cello)
Beethoven Quartet in C-sharp minor for Strings, Op. 131 (1825-26)
Orion String Quartet (Daniel Phillips, Todd Phillips, violin; Steven Tenenbom, viola; Timothy Eddy, cello)
CMS Kids Online: Playful Pieces
Sunday, April 18, 2021, 1:30pm
A live one-hour Zoom session for families and their children age 3-6 featuring pre-recorded performances and live, interactive musical games. This sensory-friendly event is appropriate for children with communication, movement, or learning needs and provides a safe, judgment-free environment. Registration is required and space is limited.
Rami Vamos, host and guitar
Nurit Pacht, violin
The Art of Interpretation: Farrenc, Bardac, Boulanger, and Sert
Monday, April 19, 2021, 7:30 pm
Live from the Rose Studio at Lincoln Center
Farrenc Air russe varié for Piano (1835)
Gilles Vonsattel, piano
L. Boulanger Trois Morceaux for Piano (1914)
Wu Han, piano
Fauré Dolly Suite for Piano, Four Hands, Op. 56 (1894-96)
Wu Han, piano, Gilles Vonsattel
Debussy Petite Suite for Piano, Four Hands (1886-89)
Gilles Vonsattel, Wu Han, piano
Ravel La Valse for Piano, Four Hands (1920)
Wu Han, piano, Gilles Vonsattel
The Art of Interpretation series combines discussion and performance elements to delve into great works from the perspective of the musicians. The series reveals how artists arrive at their interpretations of specific musical passages and gives audiences a sense of the artists’ process as they prepare to perform a piece of music.
Artist Series: Paul Watkins
Thursday, April 22, 2021, 7:30 pm
Mendelssohn Sonata in D major for Cello and Piano, Op. 58 (1843)
Paul Watkins, cello; Huw Watkins, piano
Dvořák Quartet in E-flat major for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 87 (1889)
Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Paul Watkins, cello
Inside Chamber Music: L. Boulanger’s Deux Morceaux for Violin and Piano
Monday, April 26, 2021, 7:30 pm
In this lecture, composer, radio personality and CMS Resident Lecturer Bruce Adolphe is joined by CMS artists to examine Lili Boulanger’s Deux Morceaux for Violin and Piano. Boulanger, the sister of the renowned pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, was a brilliant composer and the first female winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome. Influenced by Fauré and Debussy, she wrote just a few poetic and poignant works before her untimely death at age 24.
L. Boulanger Deux Morceaux for Violin and Piano (1911, 1914)
Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Monumental Trios
Thursday, April 29, 2021, 7:30 pm
Beethoven Trio in E-flat major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 70, No. 2 (1808)
Juho Pohjonen, piano; Paul Huang, violin; Jakob Koranyi, cello
--INTERMISSION (discussion with the artists)--
Brahms Trio in B major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 8 (1854, rev. 1889)
Orion Weiss, piano; Ani Kavafian, violin; Carter Brey, cello
Inside Chamber Music:
Fauré’s Trio in D minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 120
Monday, May 3, 2021, 7:30 pm
In this lecture, composer, radio personality and CMS Resident Lecturer Bruce Adolphe is joined by CMS artists to examine Fauré’s Trio in D minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 120. Premiered in honor of the composer’s 78th birthday, the D minor Piano trio is a remarkable example of late-style musical thinking: economical and precise, elegant and poised, traditional yet deeply personal.
Fauré Trio in D minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 120 (1922-23)
Michael Brown, piano; Stella Chen, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello
Artist Series: Ida Kavafian
Thursday, May 6, 2021, 7:30 pm
Beethoven Serenade in D major for Flute, Violin, and Viola, Op. 25 (1801)
Tara Helen O'Connor, flute; Ida Kavafian, violin; Daniel Phillips, viola
Dohnányi Quintet No. 1 in C minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 1 (1895)
Alessio Bax, piano; Ida Kavafian, Alexi Kenney, violin; Yura Lee, viola; Dmitri Atapine, cello
Composers in Focus: Joan Tower
Monday, May 10, 2021, 6:30 pm
Live from the Rose Studio at Lincoln Center
The hugely influential American composer, performer, conductor and educator Joan Tower talks with violist Paul Neubauer and bassoonist Peter Kolkay about her influences, her career – which now spans more than 60 years – and what the future holds. She also discusses in some detail three of her works: Simply Purple for Viola (2008), Purple Rush for Viola, and Red Maple and for Bassoon, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello (2013). Excerpts of the solo viola pieces are performed by Paul Neubauer; the ensemble for Red Maple is Peter Kolkay, bassoon, and the Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello).
Joan Tower Simply Purple for Viola (2008)
Paul Neubauer, viola
Joan Tower Purple Rush for Viola
Paul Neubauer, viola
Joan Tower Red Maple for Bassoon, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello (2013)
Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello)
International Voices
Thursday, May 13, 2021, 7:30 pm
Ibert Trois pièces brèves for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn (1930)
Sooyun Kim, flute; Stephen Taylor, oboe; Tommaso Lonquich, clarinet; Marc Goldberg, bassoon; Eric Reed, horn
Janáček Pohádka (Fairy Tale) for Cello and Piano (1910)
David Requiro, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano
--INTERMISSION (Discussion with the artists)--
Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances for Two Pianos, Op. 45 (1940)
Alessio Bax, Orion Weiss, piano
Inside Chamber Music: Debussy’s Quartet in G minor for Strings, Op. 10
Monday, May 17, 2021, 7:30 pm
In this lecture, composer, radio personality and CMS Resident Lecturer Bruce Adolphe is joined by CMS artists to examine Debussy’s Quartet in G minor for Strings, Op. 10. In this, his only string quartet, Debussy created a sonic canvas of extraordinary beauty and instrumental color. His distinctly personal vision of music resonates throughout the piece, one of the most beloved in the literature.
Debussy Quartet in G minor for Strings, Op. 10 (1893)
Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello)
International Quartet Series: Emerson Quartet
Thursday, May 20, 2021, 7:30 pm
Live from the Rose Studio at Lincoln Center
Shostakovich Quartet No. 11 in F minor for Strings, Op. 122 (1966)
Emerson String Quartet (Eugene Drucker, Philip Setzer, violin; Lawrence Dutton, viola; Paul Watkins, cello)
Beethoven Quartet in F major for Strings, Op. 135 (1826)
Emerson String Quartet (Eugene Drucker, Philip Setzer, violin; Lawrence Dutton, viola; Paul Watkins, cello)
Webern Six Bagatelles for String Quartet, Op. 9 (1911, 1913)
Emerson String Quartet (Eugene Drucker, Philip Setzer, violin; Lawrence Dutton, viola; Paul Watkins, cello)
Beethoven Quartet for strings, Op. 133, “Grosse Fuge” (1825)
Emerson String Quartet (Eugene Drucker, Philip Setzer, violin; Lawrence Dutton, viola; Paul Watkins, cello)
Musical Heritage: Leon Fleisher
Monday, May 24, 2021, 7:30 pm
American pianist Leon Fleisher (1928-2020), despite a career curtailed by hand injury at the age of only thirty-six, leaves a legacy as a titan among pianists and indeed among all musicians. With a lineage of teachers reaching directly back to Beethoven, Fleisher commanded a position of unrivalled authority in the interpretation of the greatest classical composers, from Mozart to Beethoven to Brahms. His recordings of the concertos of Beethoven and Brahms are definitive and essential references for all pianists, and his impact as the most insightful and eloquent of teachers is legendary. Pianist Gloria Chien and violinist Soovin Kim reveal the life and work of one of the greatest artists of our age.
Everybody Loves the Cello
Thursday, May 27, 2021, 7:30 pm
Fauré Sicilienne for Cello and Piano, Op. 78 (1898)
Colin Carr, cello; Wu Han, piano
Fauré Papillon for Cello and Piano, Op. 77 (before 1885)
Colin Carr, cello; Wu Han, piano
Glière Selections from Ten Duos for Two Cellos, Op. 53 (1911)
Rafael Figueroa, Carter Brey, cello
Golijov Mariel for Cello and Marimba (1999)
Mihai Marica, cello; Ian David Rosenbaum, percussion
Rachmaninov “Lord, Now Lettest Thou Thy Servant Depart in Peace” Arranged for Cellos from Vespers, Op. 37 (1915)
Dmitri Atapine, David Finckel, James Jeonghwan Kim, Richard Aaron, Jerry Grossman, Sarina Zhang, Sumire Kudo, Yi Qun Xu, Timothy Eddy, Rafael Figueroa, Carter Brey, Kevin Mills, cello
--INTERMISSION (Discussion with artists)--
Arensky Quartet No. 2 in A minor for Violin, Viola, and Two Cellos, Op. 35 (1894)
Danbi Um, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, David Finckel, cello
Inside Chamber Music:
Haydn’s Trio in E major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Hob. XV:28
Monday, May 31, 2021, 7:30 pm
In this lecture, composer, radio personality and CMS Resident Lecturer Bruce Adolphe is joined by CMS artists to examine Haydn’s Trio in E major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Hob. XV:28. Composed six years after Mozart’s death, this piano trio shows Haydn as a mature master of great subtlety.
Haydn Trio in E major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Hob. XV:28 (1797)
Michael Brown, piano; Stella Chen, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello
Metamorphosis
Thursday, June 3, 2021, 7:30 pm
Strauss Metamorphosen for Two Violins, Two Violas, Two Cellos, and Bass (1945)
Bella Hristova, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Richard O'Neill, Mark Holloway, viola; Dmitri Atapine, David Requiro, cello; Xavier Foley, bass
--INTERMISSION (Discussion with artists)--
Mozart Quartet in C major for Strings, K. 465, “Dissonance” (1785)
Orion String Quartet (Todd Phillips, Daniel Phillips, violin; Steven Tenenbom, viola; Timothy Eddy, cello)
Inside Chamber Music:
Mozart’s Quartet in C major for Strings, K. 465, “Dissonance”
Monday, June 7, 2021, 7:30 pm
In this lecture, composer, radio personality and CMS Resident Lecturer Bruce Adolphe is joined by CMS artists to examine Mozart’s Quartet in C major for Strings, K. 465, “Dissonance”. The opening Adagio of Mozart’s Dissonance Quartet was so extraordinary and shocking for its time that several composers attempted to “correct” Mozart’s “errors,” and Haydn remarked, “If Mozart wrote it, he must have meant it.” Adolphe takes a close look at the Adagio, the so-called corrected versions, and also the brilliant Allegro that follows.
Mozart Quartet in C major for Strings, K. 465, “Dissonance” (1785)
Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello)
International Quartet Series: Escher Quartet
Thursday, June 10, 2021, 7:30 pm
Live from the Rose Studio at Lincoln Center
Bartók Quartet No. 6 for Strings, BB 119 (1939)
Escher String Quartet (Adam Barnett-Hart, Brendan Speltz, violin; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Brook Speltz, cello)
Sibelius Quartet in D minor for Strings, Op. 56, “Voces intimae” (1909)
Escher String Quartet (Adam Barnett-Hart, Brendan Speltz, violin; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Brook Speltz, cello)
The Art of Interpretation: Prokofiev Violin Sonatas
Monday, June 14, 2021, 7:30 pm
Live from the Rose Studio at Lincoln Center
Prokofiev Sonata No. 1 in F minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 80 (1938-46)
Paul Huang, violin; Michael Brown, piano
Prokofiev Sonata No. 2 in D major for Violin and Piano, Op. 94a (1943, arr. 1944)
Paul Huang, violin; Michael Brown, piano
The Art of Interpretation series combines discussion and performance elements to delve into great works from the perspective of the musicians. The series reveals how artists arrive at their interpretations of specific musical passages and gives audiences a sense of the artists’ process as they prepare to perform a piece of music.
Artist Series: Gilles Vonsattel
Thursday, June 17, 2021, 7:30 pm
Beethoven Trio in B-flat major for Clarinet (or Violin), Cello, and Piano, Op. 11 (1797)
David Shifrin, clarinet; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Dussek The Sufferings of the Queen of France for Piano, Op. 23 (1793)
Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Liszt “Funérailles” from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses for Piano (1849)
Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Rzewski “Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues” from Four North American Ballads for Piano (1978-79)
Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Anderson Carmen Fantasy for Two Pianos (2010)
Wu Han, Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Inside Chamber Music:
Haydn’s Quartet in C major for Strings, Hob. III: 57, Op. 54, No. 2
Monday, June 21, 2021, 7:30 pm
In this lecture, composer, radio personality and CMS Resident Lecturer Bruce Adolphe is joined by CMS artists to examine Haydn’s Quartet in C major for Strings, Hob. III: 57, Op. 54, No. 2. Always surprising, witty, and daring, Haydn is in top form in this remarkably virtuosic quartet. Adolphe offers a detailed study of the comic effects and compositional thinking of the Father of the String Quartet.
Haydn Quartet in C major for Strings, Hob. III: 57, Op. 54, No. 2 (1788)
Danbi Um, violin; Paul Huang, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Mihai Marica, cello
Bohemian Masters
Thursday, June 24, 2021, 7:30 pm
Martinů Nonet for Winds and Strings (1959)
Ransom Wilson, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; David Shifrin, clarinet; Bram van Sambeek, bassoon; Radovan Vlatkovic, horn; Sean Lee, violin; Mark Holloway, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; Kurt Muroki, bass
Suk Elegie for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 23 (1902)
Juho Pohjonen, piano; Adam Barnett-Hart, violin; Jan Vogler, cello
--INTERMISSION (discussion with the artists)--
Suk Quartet in A minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 1 (1891)
Wu Han, piano; Daniel Hope, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; David Finckel, cello
Inside Chamber Music:
Mozart’s Quintet in G minor for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, K. 516
Monday, June 28, 2021, 7:30 pm
In this lecture, composer, radio personality and CMS Resident Lecturer Bruce Adolphe is joined by CMS artists to examine Mozart’s Quintet in G minor for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, K. 516. Considered by many musicians to be one of Mozart’s most moving masterpieces, the G Minor String Quintet presents a perfect balance of dark passion and shining intellect.
Mozart Quintet in G minor for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, K. 516 (1787)
Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Misha Amory, viola; Mihai Marica, cello
Carnival of Concertos
Thursday, July 1, 2021, 7:30 pm
Mozart Concerto No. 12 in A major for Piano and String Quintet, K. 414 (1782)
Alessio Bax, piano; Bella Hristova, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Sophie Shao, cello; Joseph Conyers, bass
--INTERMISSION (Discussion with artists)--
Mendelssohn Double Concerto in D minor for Violin, Piano, and Strings (1823)
Benjamin Beilman, violin; Wu Han, piano; Kristin Lee, Sean Lee, violin; Richard O'Neill, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Blake Hinson, bass
CMS 2020: Leading the Way Through a Year Like No Other
During an unprecedented concert season, in which venues around the world have had to close their doors, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center secures its leadership role by pivoting to digital content and drawing on its vast HD archive to create a rich schedule of online offerings under the umbrella CMS Front Row. Within days of the shutdown in March 2020, CMS provided listeners around the world with free daily chamber music concerts. These concerts were developed into the Artist Series, which spotlights extraordinary musicians in performance and is supplemented with documentary films that include interviews with artists at home. During July and August, CMS’s online offerings included an expanded Summer Evenings series, and the 2020-21 season includes a full complement of digital chamber music offerings, including livestreamed and newly recorded programs (as safety allows). CMS continues to be a resource for both chamber music presenters and audiences with its Front Row National initiative, which offers digital concerts to local presenters around the country, with nearly 60 presenters participating. In addition to its robust digital offerings, CMS continues to seek out every safe opportunity for its musicians to perform live: in December, The Chamber Music Society became the first foreign ensemble to tour Taiwan since the pandemic began, with seven musicians performing four concerts, teaching, and collaborating with distinguished local artists.
About the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) is one of eleven constituents of the largest performing arts complex in the world, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, which includes the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Lincoln Center Theater, and The Metropolitan Opera. Through its many performance, education, recording, and broadcast activities, it brings the experience of great chamber music to more people than any other organization of its kind. Under the artistic leadership of David Finckel and Wu Han, CMS presents a wide variety of concert series and educational events for listeners of all ages, appealing to both connoisseurs and newcomers. The performing artists constitute a revolving multi-generational and international roster of the world’s finest chamber musicians, enabling CMS to present chamber music of every instrumentation, style, and historical period. CMS’s incomparable digital presence, which regularly enables CMS to reach hundreds of thousands of listeners around the globe annually, includes: A growing number of live-streamed programs; more than 750 hours of performance and education videos free to the public on its website; a 52-week public radio series across the US; radio programming in Taiwan and mainland China; appearances on American Public Media; the new monthly program “In Concert with CMS” on the ALL ARTS broadcast channel; and performances featured on Medici.tv, Tencent, and SiriusXM’s Symphony Hall channel.
The Alphadyne Foundation is the season underwriter of all new digital and live programming.
CMS digital initiatives are supported, in part, by The Hauser Foundation, MetLife Foundation, and the Sidney E. Frank Foundation.
CMS education and outreach programs are made possible, in part, with support from the Chisholm Foundation, Colburn Foundation, Con Edison, The Jerome L. Greene Foundation, the Hearst Foundations, The Frank and Helen Hermann Foundation, Alice Ilchman Fund, the Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Fund, and the Tiger Baron Foundation. Public funds are provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
CMS new music programming is supported, in part, by: Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts; Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
CMS thanks the following for their leadership support: The Achelis and Bodman Foundation, Ann S. Bowers, Carmel Cultural Endowment for the Arts, Judy and Tony Evnin, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Jerome L. Greene Foundation, the Marion Goldin Charitable Gift Fund, the Irving Harris Foundation, Elinor and Andrew Hoover, the Estate of Andrea J. Klepetar-Fallek, the Lincoln Center Corporate Fund, The New York Community Trust, the NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund in The New York Community Trust, Mr. and Mrs. James P. O'Shaughnessy, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., and the Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Foundation.