The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Announces
2021-22 Season Live In-Person in the Rose Studio
New Milestones in the Rose Studio
15 Contemporary Composers, including Three New York Premieres – by Marc Neikrug, Anna Clyne and Salina Fisher – plus works by Sofia Gubaidulina, Julius Eastman and more
CMS Rose Studio Concerts
Focus on the 20th Century, with works by Bridge, Bruch, Coleman, Coleridge-Taylor, Francaix, Haas, Still, Tomasi and more
The Art of the Recital in the Rose Studio
World Premiere CMS Co-Commission by Lowell Liebermann, performed by cellist Dmitri Atapine and pianist Hyeyeon Park; Paganini’s 24 Caprices with Sean Lee and Peter Dugan; Paul Neubauer and Gloria Chien performing Hindemith, Kreisler and more
Inside Chamber Music with Bruce Adolphe
Digital Programs in the Fall; Return to the Rose Studio In-Person in February
2021-22 CMS Digital Season
Musical Heritage, Art of Interpretation, Artist Series, Family Programming
New York: July 29, 2021 — The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) announces an exciting 2021-22 season of intimate concerts, live and with an in-person audience, in the Rose Studio: New Milestones, Rose Studio Concerts and The Art of the Recital, as well as a new season of its popular lecture series Inside Chamber Music and all-new digital programs that combine music performance and discussions with artists. These concerts and digital programs complement CMS’s Alice Tully Hall season (which was announced in May) as well as CMS’s national and international touring concerts, which are back on the road this season.
The return to live, in-person performances follows a uniquely challenging season in which CMS played a leadership role in the chamber music world by quickly releasing freshly-curated performances from the CMS archive and creating more than 150 digital programs for its audiences. At the same time, CMS enabled chamber music presenters around North America to offer more than 400 local CMS streaming events, allowing them to stay connected with their audiences while concert halls were shuttered. CMS also developed brand-new digital series during the pandemic, which proved so popular that they will return this season to enhance CMS’s considerable selection of digital offerings.
Jennifer Johnson Cano (Photo: Fay Fox)
THURSDAYS IN THE ROSE STUDIO 2021-22
New Milestones, CMS’s series devoted to the work of living composers, presents a special event on February 17, with the New York premiere of Marc Neikrug’s chamber opera A Song by Mahler, co-commissioned by CMS, with mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, baritone Kelly Markgraf, David Shifrin on clarinet and the FLUX Quartet. The opera centers on the agonizing reality of two characters: a classical singer who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s and her accompanist husband. The title comes from Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder, “Liebst du um Schönheit” (“If You Love for the Sake of Beauty”); in the opera, it is the art song which had been the singer’s signature encore. It depicts an aspirational love not dependent on beauty, speaking directly to the emotional core of the story. A Song for Mahler will be presented in the Kaplan Penthouse. Composer’s note and program notes available here.
On March 24 in the Rose Studio, Sofia Gubaidulina’s String Quartet #4 anchors a program of new music performed by the Calidore Quartet. This work by Gubaidulina is scored for a live quartet performing along with layers of recorded sound that include strings played with mallets, instruments tuned a quarter-tone higher than the live ensemble and visual elements embedded in the score. CMS commissioned an essay about the piece, which is available here. The Calidore also performs the New York premiere of the Grammy-nominated composer Anna Clyne’s Breathing Statues. Also on the program is Joan Tower’s String Quartet No. 5 “White Water” and Jörg Widmann’s Jagdquartett. On April 14, CMS presents the New York Premiere of Salina Fisher’s Kintsugi for Piano, Violin, and Cello; Julius Eastman’s tour de force, Gay Guerrilla, a gritty hymn to identity in the composer’s often Messianic style; two pieces for solo cello by Jeffrey Mumford - amid fleeting pockets of billowing radiance (1990) and let us breathe, written for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s Fanfare Project in response to incidents of police brutality and specifically to the killing of George Floyd; and Clarence Barlow’s 1981, inspired by Robert Schumann. To open the series on October 28, CMS presents an evening of music for wind instruments from an international group of composers, including: Alexandre Lunsqui’s Topografia Index 3A, a piece that invites the musicians to sing and explores the percussive abilities of the flute and clarinet; Shih-hui Chen’s Returnings, which explores the interplay of the composer’s Taiwanese roots and western classical music; and works by Marcos Balter, George Lewis and Nina Shekhar.
The Rose Studio Concerts series presents two performances of each concert, at 6:30 pm and 9 pm. The repertoire is a mix of masterpieces, novelties, and rarely performed chamber works that deserve more exposure. This season, the majority of works are from the 20th Century (and the years immediately preceding and following it). Composers whose work will be performed include Bridge, Britten, Bruch, Carter, Coleridge-Taylor, Coleman, Francaix, Haas, Kodály, Milhaud, Poulenc, Still, Tomasi and the remarkable Louise Farrenc (1804-1875), a pianist, composer and teacher who was the only female professor appointed to the Paris Conservatory in the 19th century, and whose work is finally being appreciated after going largely unnoticed for more than a century.
Dmitri Atapine and Hyeyeon Park
CMS’s Art of the Recital series celebrates the distinguished tradition of the solo recital: concerts crafted by the performers to showcase their unique talents and musical passions. On February 24, cellist Dmitri Atapine and pianist Hyeyeon Park perform the World Premiere of Lowell Lieberman’s Sonata No. 5, a CMS co-commission written for Atapine and Park. On January 27, violinist Sean Lee is joined by pianist Peter Dugan for all 24 of Paganini’s Caprices, with Liszt’s virtuosic Étude No. 2, performed by Mr. Dugan, as a mid-concert interlude. Violist Paul Neubauer and pianist Gloria Chen open the series with a recital on October 7.
Composer, radio personality and CMS Resident Lecturer Bruce Adolphe returns for Inside Chamber Music, the long-running lecture-and-performance series that explores the chamber music repertoire and provides audiences with new insights on beloved masterworks. The series begins with virtual programs in the fall and returns to the Rose Studio with live in-person programs, which will also be livestreamed, in February.
Juho Pohjonen, Artist Series, March 23 (Photo: Tristan Cook)
Unique Digital Talk-and-Performance Programs on Wednesday Evenings
“These digital series, launched during the pandemic, provide opportunities for CMS to reach wider audiences and to inspire and sustain interest and engagement with our art form,” say co-artistic directors David Finckel and Wu Han. “A forum for us to explore ideas, repertoire, composers and the personal side of performers, these series also offer audiences a chance to meet us and our performers, and we are thrilled that through this project we’ll continue to make new friends through chamber music.”
The hugely popular, free online webinar series Musical Heritage explores towering figures in classical music and brings them to life through exceptional conversations with musicians deeply influenced by the celebrated artists who are the focus of each program. The program streams live on Wednesday evenings, and is then available free, on-demand, on the CMS website by the following Wednesday. This season, the series explores violinists Jascha Heifetz (September 29) and Dorothy DeLay (December 1), the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio (November 3), and pianists Claude Frank and Lilian Kallir (May 25).
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. This season Colin Carr explores Bach’s Suite No. 4 in E-flat major for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1010 on November 10; cellist Dmitri Atapine and pianist Hyeyeon Park dig into Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata on December 15; on January 26th, the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, violinist Arnaud Sussmann and pianist Michael Brown perform and discuss the work of two composers who perished during the Holocaust, Haas’s Suite for Oboe and Piano, Op. 17 (arranged for violin and piano) and Schulhoff’s Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 1; and the Emerson String Quartet are joined by host Michael Parloff to take a look at Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3 on a date to be announced in the spring.
The Artist Series returns this fall to delve into the life and work of CMS artists. The programs feature a short, insightful documentary film about the artist created for this series by documentary filmmaker Tristan Cook. The film is followed by a concert of their specially curated performances from the CMS archive. This season, The Artist Series focuses on Benjamin Beilman, violin (October 20), Ayano Kataoka, percussion (November 24); Yura Lee, violin (January 19); and Juho Pohjonen, piano (March 23).
Family Programming Online This Fall
For families, CMS offers a new online version its hugely popular free, fun and educational series, Meet the Music@Home, with Inspector Pulse, the world’s greatest and only “Private Ear” (aka Bruce Adolphe, CMS’s Resident Lecturer and Director of Family Programs). In each program, Inspector Pulse unlocks the mysteries and joys of music-making, exploring music fundamentals through funny stories, puns, and a bit of mayhem. Beginning October 8 and continuing through the end of the month, a new episode premieres every Friday at 4 pm and is then available on-demand. On Sunday, November 21 at 1:30 pm, CMS Kids Online presents “Inspiring Instruments,” 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.
A complete chronological list of in-person concerts follows below.
David Finckel and Wu Han, CMS Co-Artistic Directors
Photo: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
2021-22 Season in the Rose Studio
All concerts listed below take place in the Rose Studio unless otherwise noted.
The Art of the Recital: Paul Neubauer & Gloria Chien
Thursday, October 7, 2021, 7:30 pm
Cassadó Toccata in the Style of Frescobaldi for Viola and Piano (1925)
Paul Neubauer, viola; Gloria Chien, piano
Paul Sonata for Viola and Piano (1948)
Paul Neubauer, viola; Gloria Chien, piano
Hindemith Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 11, No. 4 (1919)
Paul Neubauer, viola; Gloria Chien, piano
Bridge Pensiero for Viola and Piano (1905)
Paul Neubauer, viola; Gloria Chien, piano
Casadesus Two Pieces for Viola and Piano (1947)
Paul Neubauer, viola; Gloria Chien, piano
Wolstenholme Allegretto for Viola and Piano (c. 1900)
Paul Neubauer, viola; Gloria Chien, piano
Wolstenholme Canzona for Viola and Piano (1893)
Paul Neubauer, viola; Gloria Chien, piano
Mana-Zucca Hakinoh (Lament) for Viola and Piano, Op. 186 (1956)
Paul Neubauer, viola; Gloria Chien, piano
Kreisler La Précieuse (in the style of Couperin) for Viola and Piano (1910)
Paul Neubauer, viola; Gloria Chien, piano
Kreisler Berceuse romantique for Viola and Piano, Op. 9 (1916)
Paul Neubauer, viola; Gloria Chien, piano
Benjamin Four Jamaican Pieces for Viola and Piano (1938-44)
Paul Neubauer, viola; Gloria Chien, piano
New Milestones: Boundaries and Edges
Thursday, October 28, 2021, 7:30 pm
Marcos Balter delete/control/option for Alto Flute and Cello (2008)
Sooyun Kim, flute; Mihai Marica, cello
Shih-Hui Chen Returnings for Flute, Cello, and Percussion (2009)
Sooyun Kim, flute; Mihai Marica, cello; Ayano Kataoka, percussion
George Lewis The Mangle of Practice for Violin and Piano (2014)
Artists to be announced
Alexandre Lunsqui Topografia Index 3A for Flutes, Clarinets, and Percussion (2008)
Sooyun Kim, flutes; Todd Palmer, clarinets; Ayano Kataoka, percussion
Nina Shekhar Glitch for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano (2019)
Mihai Marica, cello; additional artists to be announced
Sooyun Kim and James Austin Smith (Photo: Cherylynn Tsushima)
Rose Studio Concerts
Thursday, November 11, 2021, 6:30 and 9:00 pm
Milhaud La cheminée du roi René, Suite for Woodwind Quintet, Op. 205 (1939)
Sooyun Kim, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Bram van Sambeek, bassoon; Radovan Vlatković, horn
Haas Quintet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn, Op. 10 (1929)
Sooyun Kim, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Bram van Sambeek, bassoon; Radovan Vlatković, horn
Carter Quintet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn (1948)
Sooyun Kim, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Bram van Sambeek, bassoon; Radovan Vlatković, horn
Coleman Umoja for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn (2001)
Sooyun Kim, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Bram van Sambeek, bassoon; Radovan Vlatković, horn
Tomasi Cinq danses profanes et sacrées for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn (1961, arr. 1963)
Sooyun Kim, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Bram van Sambeek, bassoon; Radovan Vlatković, horn
Rose Studio Concerts
Thursday, November 18, 2021, 6:30 and 9:00 pm
Purcell Chacony in G minor for String Quartet (arr. Britten) (c. 1678, arr. 1948, rev. 1963
Chad Hoopes, Danbi Um, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; David Requiro, cello
Britten Three Divertimentos for String Quartet (1936)
Chad Hoopes, Danbi Um, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; David Requiro, cello
Bridge Quintet in D minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, H. 49 (1904-05, rev. 1912)
Shai Wosner, piano; Danbi Um, Chad Hoopes, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; David Requiro, cello
The Art of the Recital: Sean Lee and Peter Dugan
Thursday, January 27, 2022, 7:30 pm
Paganini Caprices 1-12 for Violin and Piano, Op. 1 (c. 1805) (arr. Robert Schumann)
Sean Lee, violin; Peter Dugan, piano
Liszt Étude No. 2 in E-flat major from Grandes études de Paganini for Piano, S. 141 (1851)
Peter Dugan, piano
Paganini Caprices 13-24 for Violin and Piano, Op. 1 (c. 1805) (arr. Robert Schumann)
Sean Lee, violin; Peter Dugan, piano
Rose Studio Concerts
Thursday, February 10, 2022, 6:30 and 9:00 pm
Françaix Trio for Violin, Viola, and Cello (1933)
Kristin Lee, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello
Kodály Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7 (1914)
Bella Hristova, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello
Coleridge-Taylor Quintet in F-sharp minor for Clarinet, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 10 (1895)
David Shifrin, clarinet; Kristin Lee, Bella Hristova, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello
New Milestones: Journey and Evolution
NY Premiere of Marc Neikrug’s A Song to Mahler
Thursday, February 17, 2022, 7:30 pm
**This event takes place at the Kaplan Penthouse**
Marc Neikrug A Song by Mahler for Mezzo-Soprano, Baritone, Clarinet, and Strings (2018) (NY Premiere)
Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano; Kelly Markgraf, baritone; David Shifrin, clarinet; FLUX Quartet (Tom Chiu, Conrad Harris, violin; Max Mandel, viola; Felix Fan, cello)
The Art of the Recital: Dmitri Atapine and Hyeyeon Park
Thursday, February 24, 2022, 7:30 pm
Bridge Sonata in D minor for Cello and Piano (1913-17)
Dmitri Atapine, cello; Hyeyeon Park, piano
Liebermann Sonata No. 5 for Cello and Piano, Op. 136 (2019) (CMS Co-Commission, World Premiere)
Dmitri Atapine, cello; Hyeyeon Park, piano
Martinů Variations on a Theme of Rossini for Cello and Piano (1942)
Dmitri Atapine, cello; Hyeyeon Park, piano
Debussy Sonata for Cello and Piano (1915)
Dmitri Atapine, cello; Hyeyeon Park, piano
Shostakovich Sonata in D minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 40 (1934)
Dmitri Atapine, cello; Hyeyeon Park, piano
Rose Studio Concerts
Thursday, March 10, 2022, 6:30 and 9:00 pm
Still Pastorela for Violin and Piano (1946)
Sean Lee, violin; Gloria Chien, piano
Poulenc Sonata for Cello and Piano (1940-48)
Inbal Segev, cello; Gloria Chien, piano
Bruch Selections from Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, Op. 83 (1909)
Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Inbal Segev, cello; Gloria Chien, piano
Bartók Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano (1938)
Sean Lee, violin; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Gloria Chien, piano
New Milestones: Visions and Illuminations
Thursday, March 24, 2022, 7:30 pm
Sofia Gubaidulina Quartet No. 4 for Strings with Tape (1993)
Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello)
Anna Clyne Breathing Statues for String Quartet (2019) (CMS Co-Commission, NY Premiere)
Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello)
Joan Tower White Water for String Quartet (2011)
Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello)
Jörg Widmann Jagdquartett for Strings (2003)
Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello)
New Milestones: Emergence of Beauty
Thursday, April 14, 2022, 7:30 pm
Jeffrey Mumford amid fleeting pockets of billowing radiance for Cello (1990)
Darrett Adkins, cello
Salina Fisher Kintsugi for Piano, Violin, and Cello (2020) (NY Premiere)
Darrett Adkins, cello; additional artists to be announced
Clarence Barlow 1981 for Piano, Violin, and Cello (1981)
Darrett Adkins, cello; additional artists to be announced
Jeffrey Mumford let us breathe for Cello (2020)
Darrett Adkins, cello
Julius Eastman Gay Guerrilla for Two Pianos (1979)
Gilles Vonsattel, Terrence Wilson, piano
Arnaud Sussmann
Rose Studio Concerts
Thursday, May 5, 2022, 6:30 and 9:00 pm
Coleridge-Taylor Quintet in G minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 1 (1893)
Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Stella Chen, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello
Farrenc Quintet in A minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass, Op. 30 (1842)
Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Anthony Manzo, bass
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. With its home in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, CMS is known for the extraordinary quality of its performances and its programming, and for setting the benchmark for chamber music worldwide. 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. CMS 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. Annual activities include a full season in New York, as well as national and international tours.
During 2020, the year of the pandemic shut-down, Finckel and Wu Han played a leadership role in the chamber music world, quickly pivoting CMS to digital programming. They created more than 150 high-quality digital programs, and through the Front Row: National initiative, shared CMS content with more than 60 chamber music presenters around North America, resulting in about 400 streaming events to local audiences. CMS’s incomparable digital presence continues to reach hundreds of thousands of listeners around the globe annually and 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; the NY-Emmy-nominated documentary film "Transcending: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Celebrates 50 Years;" and performances featured on Medici.tv, Tencent, and SiriusXM’s Symphony Hall channel.
The Jerome L. Greene Foundation is the 2021/22 CMS Season Sponsor.
The Hauser Foundation is the CMS Digital Season Sponsor.
CMS thanks the following for their leadership support: Ann S. Bowers, Judy and Tony Evnin, the Marion Goldin Charitable Gift Fund, the Frederick R. Koch Foundation, the Irving Harris Foundation, Elinor and Andrew Hoover, the Estate of Andrea J. Klepetar-Fallek, Mr. and Mrs. James P. O'Shaughnessy, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., the Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Foundation, Sally D. and Stephen M. Clement, Joseh M. Cohen, Mrs. Daniel Cowin, William and Inger Ginsberg, Phyllis Grann, Chris Hughes and Sean Eldridge, Peter and Jane Keegan, Richard Prins and Connie Steemsma, Elaine and Alan Weiler, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund,
CMS digital initiatives are supported, in part, by The Alphadyne Foundation, the Sidney E. Frank Foundation, and MetLife Foundation.
CMS education and outreach programs are made possible, in part, with support from the Chisholm Foundation, Colburn Foundation, the Tiger Baron Foundation, Con Edison, the Hearst Foundations, Alice Ilchman Fund, the Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Fund, and The Frank and Helen Hermann Foundation.
CMS new music programming is supported, in part, by Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, and The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.
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.