CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER HONORS MASTER LUTHIER SAMUEL ZYGMUNTOWICZ AT 2026 SPRING GALA
Tuesday, May 19, 2026

CMS Artists—performing on Zygmuntowicz instruments—celebrate the American master luthier, known as “the Stradivari of our time.”

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) honors American master luthier Samuel Zygmuntowicz at its 2026 Spring Gala on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at Alice Tully Hall, with a concert featuring string players who are all performing on Zygmuntowicz’s instruments. 

On the program at the CMS Gala concert are works by Telemann, Mozart, Dvořák, Moszkowski, Rachmaninoff, and Frolov performed by pianist and CMS co-artistic director Wu Han; pianist Orion Weiss; violinists Chad Hoopes, Bella Hristova, Richard Lin, and James Thompson; violist Matthew Lipman; and cellist and CMS co-artistic director David Finckel. 

Finckel, who owns not one but two cellos made by Zygmuntowicz, reflected on the luthier’s significant place in the history of violin making: “From the birth of the violin in the hands of the Amati family in the mid-1500s, the instrument evolved steadily, culminating in the golden period of Antonio Stradivari in the early 18th century. It is astonishing to realize that, at this very moment, we have entered the second golden period of violin making, which, by all accounts, is led by the work of one maker: Samuel Zygmuntowicz. All players of string instruments are fortunate to be living in a time when they can perform on instruments made by the Antonio Stradivari of our time, the second maker in violin history to bring the instrument to unsurpassable heights.”

Zygmuntowicz’s relationship with the Chamber Music Society spans nearly four decades, and many CMS artists perform regularly on his instruments. A violin he made in 1986, now part of Finckel’s collection and frequently loaned to artists, continues to appear on CMS stages today. 

“My long time working relationship with CMS and virtuoso musicians on its roster has certainly raised the level of my instrument making, and by extension, the work of my students and colleagues,”  said Zygmuntowicz who turns 70 later this year. "I believe that interplay has also influenced the relationships many CMS players have with their instruments. And in these mutual interactions, we drive one another to greater heights, in a way which is unique – or at least exceedingly uncommon – in our time."

CMS artists with their instruments, all made by Samuel Zygmuntowicz, at a CMS rehearsal in January, 2026

GALA CONCERT PROGRAM
Artists of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Alice Tully Hall

Telemann Concerto in D major for Four Violins, TWV 40:202 (c. 1720) 
Mozart “Allegro” from Duo in G major for Violin and Viola, K. 423 (1783)
Dvořák “Larghetto” from Terzetto in C major for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 74 (1887)
Moszkowski Selections from Suite in G minor for Two Violins and Piano, Op. 71 (1903)
Rachmaninoff “Andante” from Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 19 (1901)
Frolov Concert Fantasy on Themes from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Op. 19 (1987)

Wu Han, PIANO • Orion Weiss, PIANO • Chad Hoopes, VIOLIN • Bella Hristova, VIOLIN • Richard Lin, VIOLIN • James Thompson, VIOLIN • Matthew Lipman, VIOLA • David Finckel, CELLO  

A limited number of press seats are available for the concert.
Contact bgreenfield@KirshbaumAssociates.com or mibrahimova@KirshbaumAssociates.com

Proceeds from the CMS Spring Gala support the organization’s artistic and educational initiatives, including concerts, digital programming, and education and community engagement programs that bring chamber music to audiences in New York and around the world.

Samuel Zygmuntowicz | Photo: Cherylynn Tsushima

About the Honoree

Samuel Zygmuntowicz is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading luthiers. After early training as a sculptor, he began studying instrument making at age 13 and later worked with renowned masters Carl Becker and René Morel. Since establishing his Brooklyn workshop in 1985, he has created instruments by commission for many of the world’s foremost performers, including Isaac Stern, Joshua Bell, Maxim Vengerov, Cho-Liang Lin, and Leila Josefowicz, as well as members of the Emerson and Orion String Quartets.

During the late twentieth century, Zygmuntowicz’s instruments changed perceptions of contemporary violin making by demonstrating that modern instruments could equal the tonal complexity and projection of the finest historic Italian violins.

A violin he made for Isaac Stern later set the auction record for an instrument by a living maker—more than doubling the previous mark—and helped establish new confidence among performers seeking exceptional modern instruments at a time when the finest antique violins had become financially out of reach.

Many artists of the Chamber Music Society perform on Zygmuntowicz instruments, including Chad Hoopes, Bella Hristova, Arnaud Sussmann, Matthew Lipman, James Thompson, Sean Lee, and Kristin Lee.

In addition to his work as a maker, Zygmuntowicz collaborates with leading acousticians and researchers and has contributed to groundbreaking vibration studies of Stradivari and Guarneri instruments. He serves as Creative Director of Strad3D.org and regularly shares his research through lectures, workshops, and conferences. His workshop has also trained and influenced a generation of contemporary violin makers.