As co-artistic directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center—a global ambassador for chamber music—David Finckel and Wu Han continue to elevate the field of chamber music to the highest standards. Constantly discovering and nurturing talented young artists and providing opportunities for them to flourish, they have created an unsurpassed intergenerational roster of the best chamber musicians in the world who perform not only at Lincoln Center, but around the country and the world. Year after year, Finckel and Wu Han curate programs that delve deep into the vast repertoire of chamber music across three centuries, offering new perspectives on classic works, presenting ensembles with a huge range of instrumentation (not only piano and strings, but percussion, winds and voice) and introduce audiences to works not often heard in concert.  They also continue to commission new work and devote an entire series each year to music written for chamber ensembles by living composers.

In its 2025-2026 season, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presents The Magnificent Violin, an exploration of the indispensable role the violin has played in chamber music from its development in the mid-16th century through the present day. CMS’s roster of nearly two dozen violinists shines in programs interspersed throughout the season.

The annual Winter Festival in January and February is dedicated entirely to violin repertoire, with four programs that trace the lineage of the instrument’s development. Opening the season is a concert dedicated to 19th-century violinist Joseph Joachim (1831–1907) who famously inspired composers including Dvořák, Brahms and Schumann. The violin is also featured in newly commissioned works by Chris Rogerson and Sean Shepherd; a program of Baroque violin concertos in December’s Baroque Festival; a new lecture series dedicated to the story of the instrument and more.

Other highlights of the season:

• French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet performs a recital of the complete published solo piano works of Maurice Ravel during the 150th anniversary year of the composer’s birth (Nov 18).
   
• CMS presents several commissions and premieres this season: world premieres by Valerie Coleman (CMS co-commission), Cory Smythe and David Byrd-Marrow, as well as New York premieres by Kian Ravaei, Sean Shepherd (CMS co-commission), Ye Xiaogang (CMS commission), Charlotte Bray and Frederic Rzewski.
   
• The Sonic Spectrum series returns with four programs spotlighting 15 contemporary composers (Nov 6, Jan 22, Mar 5, Apr 30).
   
• Four distinguished string quartets from around the world appear throughout the season: the Miró Quartet, in its 30th-anniversary season (Oct 28); the Escher String Quartet (Feb 10); the Viano Quartet, a CMS Bowers Program ensemble (Mar 22); and the Shanghai Quartet, in its only New York appearance this season (Apr 19).
   
• A 90th birthday celebration for legendary pianist and longtime CMS artist Gilbert Kalish featuring Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire (Oct 23).
   
• The annual December Baroque festival, including works for Baroque violin, J.S. Bach’s chamber cantatas, and all six Brandenburg Concertos.
   
• A season finale “Schubertiade,” featuring CMS Artistic Directors David Finckel and Wu Han alongside pianist Anne-Marie McDermott and violinist Benjamin Beilman (May 17).

Selected concert dates below.
Concerts take place in Alice Tully Hall (ATH), the Rose Studio (RS), and the Kaplan Penthouse (KP).

Sunday October 19, 2025, 5:00 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
OPENING NIGHT – THE COMPOSER’S VIOLINIST: JOSEPH JOACHIM
The opening concert of CMS’s celebratory violin season reunites Johannes Brahms and Clara and Robert Schumann with the violinist who inspired them: Joseph Joachim. On the program are Brahms’s mighty violin concerto, Schumann’s and Dvořák’s concertos, and much more.  Pianist Gilles Vonsattel joins violinists Stella Chen and Lun Li, violists Paul Neubauer and James Thompson and cellists David Finckel and Paul Watkins.
Event page with artists and program

Thursday October 23, 2025, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / KP
GILBERT KALISH AT 90: THE PATH FROM GERMAN ROMANTICISM TO PIERROT LUNAIRE
CMS celebrates the 90th birthday of legendary pianist Gilbert Kalish and explores where in the world the mesmerizing Pierrot Lunaire came from, attempting to trace the path from German Romanticism to the wild, expressionistic world of this seminal work.
Event page with artists and program

Tuesday October 28, 2025, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
STRING QUARTET SERIES: THE MIRÓ QUARTET
The Miró String Quartet, in its 30th-anniversary year, with music by Haydn, Ginastera, Debussy and Franck.
Event page with artists and program

Wednesday November 6, 2025, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / RS
SONIC SPECTRUM I: NEW MUSIC WITH MEZZO-SOPRANO FLEUR BARRON
A world premiere by Valerie Coleman (co-commissioned by CMS), a New York premiere by Kian Ravaei, and works by Takashi Yoshimatsu, Chen Yi and Huang Ro.
Event page with artists and program

Tuesday November 18, 2025, 7:00 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
AN EVENING WITH JEAN-EFFLAM BAVOUZET: RAVEL’S MAJOR WORKS FOR SOLO PIANO
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet undertakes a great pianistic feat, performing Ravel’s complete published major works for solo piano.
Event page with artists and program

Sunday November 23, 2025, 5:00 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
AN EVENING WITH BENJAMIN BEILMAN AND GLORIA CHIEN
Benjamin Beilman is a violinist’s violinist: golden tone, impeccable technique, and magnetic musicianship. Pianist Gloria Chien is a long-time presence at CMS and one of today’s most sought-after collaborators. On the program: works by violin virtuoso Eugène Ysaÿe (Beilman plays Ysaÿe’s 1740 Guarneri del Gesù violin) and Béla Bartók, as well as César Franck’s darkly lyrical showpiece dedicated as a wedding present to Ysaÿe.
Event page with artists and program

December 6–16
CMS’s ANNUAL BAROQUE FESTIVAL

Saturday December 6, 2025, 7:30 PM
Sunday December 7, 2025, 5:00 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS
Event page with artists and program

Tuesday December 9, 2025, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
BACH CANTATAS
A gorgeous sampling of Bach’s vocal music, including his only cantatas in Italian.
Event page with artists and program

Friday December 12, 2025, 7:30 PM
Sunday December 14, 2025, 5:00 PM
Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
ANNUAL PRESENTATION OF BACH’S BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS
CMS’s holiday tradition continues with the joyful and astonishingly varied Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Event page with artists and program

Thursday January 22, 2026, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / RS
SONIC SPECTRUM II: TWO NEW YORK PREMIERES
The program features three New York premieres, by Sean Shepherd (CMS co-commission), Ye Xiaogang (CMS commission) and Charlotte Bray, as well as music by Jörg Widmann.
Event page with artists and program

Sunday, February 1, 2026, 5:00 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
SHOSTAKOVICH: 1906–1975
Dmitri Shostakovich, like many artists, had a complicated relationship with the Soviet state. He was a highly decorated member of the Communist Party, but he also wrote works that led to denouncements by the state on multiple occasions. This all-Shostakovich program features a trio performed by the Sitkovetsky Trio, songs performed by soprano Andriana Chuchman and a chamber version of Shostakovich’s final symphony.
Event page with artists and program

Thursday, February 5, 2026, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / RS
ART OF THE RECITAL: DAVID BYRD-MARROW AND CORY SMYTHE
Two performer-composers, horn player David Byrd-Marrow (solo hornist in The Knights), and pianist Cory Smythe present an unusual program that includes two world premieres for horn and piano by the artists. Also on the program is music by Jérôme Naulais, Alec Wilder, Jörg Widmann, Billy Strayhorn, and Olivier Messiaen.
Event page with artists and program

Tuesday February 10, 2026, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
STRING QUARTET SERIES: THE ESCHER STRING QUARTET
The Escher String Quartet presented the complete Bartók string quartets at CMS in 2023–2024. They return with late works by Mozart and Dvořák and a much-anticipated viola quintet by American composer Chris Rogerson (CMS co-commission).
Event page with artists and program

February 20 – March 8
WINTER FESTIVAL: VIOLIN CELEBRATION

Friday February 20, 2026, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
WINTER FESTIVAL: FROM BACH TO BEETHOVEN
This program looks at significant works for violin from its invention in the mid-16th century, through the Baroque era, with works by Bach and violin virtuoso Tartini. Then it’s on to Mozart, a proficient violinist himself, who took sonatas to a new level; and Beethoven, who paved the way to the future with new heights of expression for the instrument.
Event page with artists and program

Tuesday February 24, 2026, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
WINTER FESTIVAL: THE AGE OF ROMANCE
Composers of the 19th century seized upon the violin’s ability to imitate the human voice and go straight to the heart; this program shows the influence that skillful performers had on these composers and works, featuring Schubert, Brahms, Beach and Mendelssohn.
Event page with artists and program

Saturday February 28, 2026, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
WINTER FESTIVAL: VIOLIN VISIONARIES
At the dawn of the 20th century, composers, liberated by Romanticism and fired by nationalism, explored disparate cultures and wrote music in powerful new ways. Once again, the violin was their inspiration. Music by Janáček, Enescu, Ravel and Bloch.
Event page with artists and program

Sunday March 8, 2026, 5:00 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
WINTER FESTIVAL: DESTINATION: KREISLER
The beloved violinist Friedrich “Fritz” Kreisler was born in Vienna in 1875; he was adored by listeners and musicians alike, and his playing and composing redefined the late Romantic voice of the violin. This tribute begins with a prelude by great artists who preceded him (Ysaÿe, Wieniawski and Strauss) and continues with a selection of Kreisler’s own compositions and arrangements.
Event page with artists and program

Thursday March 5, 2026, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / RS
WINTER FESTIVAL: SONIC SPECTRUM III
This program features a New York premiere by and Frederic Rzewski and works by John Corigliano and David Serkin Ludwig.
Event page with artists and program

Sunday March 22, 2026, 5:00 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
STRING QUARTET SERIES: THE VIANO QUARTET
The Viano Quartet, current members of CMS’s Bowers Program, perform a program showcasing the remarkable range of their repertoire: music by Haydn, Mendelssohn, Webern and Shostakovich.
Event page with artists and program

Sunday April 19, 2026, 5:00 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
STRING QUARTET SERIES: THE SHANGHAI QUARTET (Only NYC Appearance this Season)
The Shanghai offers a program of music by Joseph Haydn, Tan Dun and George Gershwin.
Event page with artists and program

Thursday April 30, 2026, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / RS
SONIC SPECTRUM IV: WORKS FOR PERCUSSION & VIOLIN
This program features works by Vivian Fung, Joan Tower and Lou Harrison, performed by Sandbox Percussion and violinist Kristin Lee.
Event page with artists and program

Sunday May 17, 2026, 5:00 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center / ATH
SEASON FINALE: SCHUBERTIADE
The “Schubertiade” was a concert invented during Franz Schubert’s lifetime by his friends, who would gather for long evenings to enjoy their favorite composer’s music. The CMS season concludes by exploring Schubert in three settings: four-hand piano music (with Wu Han and Anne-Marie McDermott); a violin-and-piano showpiece (with pianist Anne-Marie-McDermott and violinist Benjamin Beilman); and the epic Trio in E-flat major (with pianist Wu Han, Beilman and cellist David Finckel).
Event page with artists and program