May 4, 2021
CMS Returns to Alice Tully Hall for 2021-22 Season
Opening Night Celebrates Return to In-Person Performances After Nearly 19 Months Dark

“Winter Festival” Revives 50th Anniversary Milestone Concerts Cancelled Due to the Pandemic

Quartetto di Cremona Makes its Lincoln Center Debut in "International Quartets" (Feb 2022)

"Baroque Traditions" in December Include Solo Bach Concert, Baroque Masterwork Concertos, and Return of Annual Brandenburg Concertos
 

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) announces its long-awaited return to live concerts in Alice Tully Hall for the 2021-2022 Season with 30 concerts, comprising more than 94 unique works, 14 of which have never before been presented by CMS on the Alice Tully Hall stage. A large part of the season is dedicated to reviving almost all of the concerts that would otherwise have been lost due to the pandemic. CMS made the commitment to both artists and audiences to bring those concerts to fruition in a later season, and is proud to be offering them over the coming months.

Throughout the pandemic, CMS played a leadership role in the chamber music world by quickly 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. At the same time, the organization committed to supporting its musicians both financially and emotionally by providing fee-paying opportunities that would help keep them solvent and connected to their life’s work. CMS created performing and speaking opportunities for its artists as part of the extensive slate of digital programming launched during the pandemic. In addition, CMS paid artists 50% of the fees they would have earned on cancelled concerts, and as those concerts are rescheduled this coming year, CMS will pay artists an additional 75% of their fees, for a total of 125%. 

CMS also offered its digital concerts to local presenters and venues around the U.S. and in Canada through Front Row: National. More than 60 chamber music presenters around North America have presented over 400 local CMS streaming events to their audiences this season, keeping audiences and presenters connected to each other and the music.  Lily Carbone, Communications and Marketing Manager at Performance Santa Fe, said, “There are just not many producing organizations that were prepared to meet this digital need with as much quality and speed as CMS did. Plus, people really enjoyed getting to know the artists and hearing how they were coping with the pandemic [through CMS’s newly recorded interviews and video material].” Kerryn Booth, Executive Director of Chamber Music Houston, said, “If not for the CMS streams, I really think I would have lost people. It would have been terrible if we had kept silent all year.”

The return to live performances at Alice Tully Hall is a welcome step forward after a challenging year. “We were made keenly aware over this past year that a huge part of our experience as musicians is sensing the reactions of a living, breathing audience, which allows us to take the chances and go the extra artistic mile that don’t happen in a practice room or even in front of a camera,” said David Finckel and Wu Han, CMS Co-Artistic Directors. “Audiences will once again experience the thrill of in-the-moment music making along with the warmth of communal listening. All of these wonderful musical phenomena have been absent from our lives for far too long. So it is with great joy that we return home to Alice Tully Hall to present many of the concerts that have been delayed by the pandemic, but not lost to it, and much more.”

In addition to its main stage series at Alice Tully Hall, CMS plans to return to a full slate of programming in 2021-22, adhering to current guidelines as they evolve in the coming months. CMS will announce at a later date touring engagements around the world, concerts and lectures in the Rose Studio, educational programs for adults and children, and a continuation and expansion of digital programming launched in 2020.

All concerts presented by CMS will adhere to strict safety guidelines that are informed by NY State, CDC, and other public health recommendations applicable at the time of the concerts.

“We are looking forward to welcoming our audience back home to Alice Tully Hall this fall and enjoying extraordinary concerts together,” said Suzanne Davidson, CMS Executive Director.  “We take our responsibility to ensure a safe environment for our guests, musicians, and staff very seriously and continue to consult with public health officials and experts to establish best practices and adhere to city and state guidelines. Taking extra care is a small price to pay to be able to safely gather together again,  fulfilling the experience of seeing and hearing live chamber music this fall after such a long, long pause. I hope we can all resist the joyful urge to click our heels inside the concert hall.”

Matthew Lipman and Wu Han (Photo: Tristan Cook)

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Opening Night

The 2021-22 season kicks off on October 19 with Opening Night: Road to Romanticism, a celebratory concert to welcome audiences back to Alice Tully Hall for the first time in what will have been almost 19 months. This concert fills the stage with string players, performing bold music to lift us forward, out of the haze of the pandemic, into a better tomorrow. The program begins with Beethoven and draws the audience forward through time with works by Hummel, Schubert, and Mendelssohn.

International String Quartets

The fabulous Italian Quartetto di Cremona finally makes its long-awaited Lincoln Center debut on CMS’s International Quartet series on February 1. In the quartet’s 20-year existence, it has established itself as one of Europe’s leading ensembles, and the quartet’s interpretations and performance appeal have endeared it to a wide and loyal audience. “Especially exciting in this program,” says David Finckel, “is the pairing of two of the most challenging works in the quartet literature: the somber, intense first quartet of Prokofiev, and Schoenberg’s epic first quartet, still in the hyper-expressive style of his early period. These works together will test both the stamina and artistry of the Cremona quartet, and for a taste of something completely different, we will also hear them in the effervescent, operatic clarinet quintet by Carl Maria von Weber, with veteran CMS clarinetist David Shifrin.”

The Calidore String Quartet opens the series on October 24 with a program of dramatic works by Puccini, Brahms, and Webern, as well as Shostakovich’s stunning Quartet No. 12, which is string-quartet writing at its best. And on April 3, CMS welcomes the Escher String Quartet, an ensemble that has evolved on the CMS stage and beyond into one of the world’s most virtuosic and electrifying string quartets. The Escher was one of the first ensembles to participate in what is now the CMS Bowers Program for extraordinary emerging artists.  On the program: quartets by Dvořák, Bartók, and Tchaikovsky. 

Ida Kavafian and Anne McDermott (Photo: Tristan Cook) 

The CMS Winter Festival
50th Anniversary Season “Milestones” Revisited
February 4 – March 29

With great pride, CMS delivers the promised completion of its epic 50th Anniversary Season “Milestones” programming, which was postponed due to the pandemic and has been transplanted to this season’s Winter Festival. “These concerts,” said David Finckel, “spotlight a diverse assortment of masterworks that tell the story of chamber music’s evolution by showcasing consequential works in our art form’s history from across centuries and oceans.”

A brilliant highlight of the Winter Festival’s exploration of chamber music milestones is Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) on March 18. This is the extraordinary work that combined not only Brahmsian romanticism with flights of modernism but also ushered into the chamber music genre a true tone poem sextet, which tells the story of conflict and reconciliation between lovers. Composed at the end of the 19th century and the dawn of the 20th, the work bridges ages and styles with such magic that it is now regarded as classic, unique in the chamber music literature.  Milestone works will serve to anchor concerts throughout the Winter Festival: Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time on February 4 (with Brahms and Stravinsky); Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet on February 13 (with Beethoven and Mendelssohn); Beethoven’s first Piano Trio on February 25 (with Debussy and Chausson); Mendelssohn’s Octet on March 6 and 8 (with octets by Enescu and Shostakovich); and Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G minor on March 15 (with Mendelssohn and Strauss). On March 27 and 29, the Winter Festival concludes with Gershwin’s great American jazz “symphony,” Rhapsody in Blue (for piano, four hands), along with Ravel, Milhaud and selections from a 1995 CMS co-commission by Wynton Marsalis, At the Octoroon Balls for String Quartet.

CMS Ensemble Performing Bach's Brandenburg Concertos

Baroque Traditions at CMS in December

The annual festivities begin with a rich sampling of Baroque Concertos on December 5 and 7, including four works that CMS brings to the stage of Alice Tully Hall for the first time: Albinoni’s oboe concerto, Telemann’s concerto for flute and oboe; Locatelli’s violin concerto and Tartini’s famously difficult virtuoso showcase, his cello concerto. Rounding out the program are classic concertos by Vivaldi and Bach. The feast of Solo Bach on December 10 and 12 gives audiences a rare opportunity to hear the distinctive Alice Tully organ, as well as solo pieces for piano, violin, cello, and lute. One of Bach’s French Suites for keyboard and his Suite for lute are being performed by CMS for the first time in Alice Tully Hall. A December tradition now in its 28th year is CMS’s annual presentation of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos to welcome in the holidays; this year, they are scheduled for December 17, 19, and 21.

Unusual Pairings and Rarely-Heard Repertoire

The magnificent Serenades for large wind ensembles by Dvořák and Mozart are rarely heard on stage, especially on the same program. So when CMS assembles a cast of the world’s best wind players for Great Wind Serenades on November 5, it will be an international wind-fest not to be missed. 

Frédéric Chopin gave the world some of its most beloved music, but sadly little in the way of chamber music. Chopin: Voice of the Poet on November 9 is an all-Chopin evening that combines the composer’s ever-popular miniatures for solo piano with rarely-heard chamber works, notably his late cello sonata and mid-career piano trio. The solo piano works include three that are new to CMS at Alice Tully Hall - Chopin’s Mazurka in A minor, Berceuse, and Ballade No. 1.

Spanish Inspirations, on November 14, explores rhythmic, colorful Spanish chamber music, which is not frequently performed on the concert stage. This spirited program was to open the 20-21 season last October: Boccherini’s Quintet in E major and Shostakovich’s Spanish Songs (both new to CMS at Alice Tully Hall); Cassadó’s Trio; Sarasate’s flashy and dance-inflected Navarra; and music by Ravel and Turina.  

On January 18Beethoven, Schulhoff, and Dvořák will fill Alice Tully Hall with quintets and sextets. CMS presents Beethoven’s Quintet in C minor for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, Op. 104 at Tully for the first time. It is joined by two sextets for two violins, two violas, and two cellos -- Dvořák’s Sextet in A major and Schulhoff’s Sextet, which is not heard often enough. Both of these works, particularly the Schulhoff, reveal the paradoxical combination of intimacy and orchestral richness that is possible with a string sextet.

 With The Innovators on May 3, CMS presents an evening that pairs masterpieces of vocal chamber music with an instrumental work of stunning depth and structure. David Finckel calls this the “most anticipated program of the entire season, offering a trio of compositions that all deserve to be recognized among music’s greatest inventions.” Soprano Tony Arnold and pianist Juho Pohjonen perform songs by Debussy, the French genius who created groundbreaking advances in harmonic language. Pianist Gilbert Kalish joins Pohjonen for what is arguably Stravinsky’s most famous (or infamous) work, the Rite of Spring, for four hands. And Kalish, who was at the piano for the premiere of George Crumb’s hugely successful work, “Ancient Voices of Children,” at the Library of Congress in 1970, brings that piece to life once again in this concert.

Carnival of the Animals

Bringing the Alice Tully Hall season to a gleeful close on May 15 and 17 will be two performances of a concert titled Carnival of the Animals. During the 17th and 18th centuries, composers replicated the actual sounds made by animals in some of their pieces, and the practice continued in the Romantic and modern eras. CMS sends listeners off to their summer holidays with a program filled with the noise of nature with music by Biber, Handel, Haydn, Copland, Debussy, and Saint-Saëns.

 All programs are subject to change.

 
Quartetto di Cremona (Photo: Nikolaj Lund)

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
2021-22 Alice Tully Hall Concert Schedule

Opening Night: Road to Romanticism
Tuesday, October 19, 2021, 7:30 pm

Beethoven Trio in C minor for Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 9, No. 3 (1797-98)
Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello

Hummel Quintet in E-flat for Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Bass, Op. 87 (1802)
Wu Qian, piano; Richard Lin, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Anthony Manzo, bass

Schubert Rondo in A major for Piano, Four Hands, D. 951 (1828)
Wu Han, Wu Qian, piano

Mendelssohn Sextet in D major for Piano, Violin, Two Violas, Cello, and Bass, Op. 110 (1824)
Wu Han, piano; Richard Lin, violin; Arnaud Sussmann, Matthew Lipman, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Anthony Manzo, bass


Puccini to Shostakovich
Sunday, October 24, 2021, 5:00 pm

Puccini Crisantemi for String Quartet (1890)
Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello)

Brahms Quartet in A minor for Strings, Op. 51, No. 2 (1865-73)
Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello)

Webern Langsamer Satz for String Quartet (1905)
Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello)

Shostakovich Quartet No. 12 in D-flat major for Strings, Op. 133 (1968)
Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello)


Mozart & Dvořák: The Great Serenades
Friday, November 5, 2021, 7:30 pm

These magnificent works for large wind ensembles are rarely heard even by themselves, let alone on either side of the same intermission. The distinctive, penetrating timbres of winds and brass lent themselves to outdoor performance in the early classical age, but composers from Mozart onward elevated the genre to a high form of musical art. The cast of wind players that CMS can call its own is paralleled in quality by none in the world, and indeed, they actually are from all over the world. This is an international wind-fest not to be missed.

Dvořák Serenade in D minor for Winds, Cello, and Double Bass, B. 77, Op. 44 (1878)
James Austin Smith, Stephen Taylor, oboe; Tommaso Lonquich, Anthony McGill, clarinet; Bram van Sambeek, Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Tom Sefčovič, contrabassoon; Radovan Vlatković, Eric Reed, Michelle Reed Baker, horn; Mihai Marica, cello; Anthony Manzo, bass

Mozart Serenade in B-flat major for Winds and Double Bass, K. 361, “Gran Partita” (1783-84)
Stephen Taylor, James Austin Smith, oboe; Anthony McGill, Tommaso Lonquich, clarinet; Romie de Guise-Langlois, Pavel Vinnitsky, basset horn; Peter Kolkay, Bram van Sambeek, bassoon; Tom Sefčovič, contrabassoon; Radovan Vlatković, Eric Reed, Julia Pilant, Michelle Reed Baker, horn; Anthony Manzo, bass

Anne-Marie McDermott (Photo: Tristan Cook)

Chopin: Voice of the Poet
Tuesday, November 9, 2021, 7:30 pm

Frédéric Chopin gave the world some its most beloved music, but sadly little in the way of chamber music. But Chopin’s unique voice does not need to be absent from the CMS stage, as we have two works for this program of impressive stature: his late cello sonata and mid-career piano trio. The cello sonata is arguably the first thoroughly romantic cello sonata in history, while the piano trio, a rarity from Chopin’s pen, has taken a rightful place among the standard piano trio repertoire. Putting these chamber works in perspective are two quintessential solo piano selections, performed in turn by Chopin specialists Anne-Marie McDermott and Michael Brown.

Chopin Mazurka in A minor for Piano, Op. 17, No. 4 (1833)
Chopin Berceuse in D-flat major for Solo Piano, Op. 57 (1844)
Chopin Ballade in G minor for Piano, Op. 23 (c. 1835)
Anne-Marie McDermott, piano

Chopin Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 65 (1845-46)
Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Michael Brown, piano

Chopin Barcarolle in F-sharp major for Piano, Op. 60 (1845-46)
Michael Brown, piano

Chopin Trio in G minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 8 (1828-29)
Anne-Marie McDermott, piano; Ani Kavafian, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello


Spanish Inspirations
Sunday, November 14, 2021, 5:00 pm

Boccherini Quintet in E major for Two Violins, Viola, and Two Cellos, G. 275, Op. 11, No. 5 (1771)
Paul Huang, Danbi Um, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Clive Greensmith, Nicholas Canellakis, cello

Ravel Don Quichotte à Dulcinée for Voice and Piano (1932-33)
Will Liverman, baritone; Wu Qian, piano

Turina Quartet in A minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 67 (1931)
Wu Qian, piano; Paul Huang, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello

Shostakovich Spanish Songs for Voice and Piano, Op. 100 (1956)
Will Liverman, baritone; Wu Qian, piano

Cassadó Trio in C major for Piano, Violin, and Cello (1926)
Anne-Marie McDermott, piano; Danbi Um, violin; Clive Greensmith, cello

Sarasate Navarra for Two Violins and Piano, Op. 33 (1889)
Paul Huang, Danbi Um, violin; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano


Tchaikovsky, Fauré, and Brahms
Sunday, November 21, 2021, 5:00 pm

Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile from String Quartet No. 1, Op. 11 for Solo Cello and Strings (1871, arr. 1888)
Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Angelo Xiang Yu, Alexi Kenney, violin; Misha Amory, viola; David Finckel, cello

Brahms Quintet in G major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, Op. 111 (1890)
Angelo Xiang Yu, Alexi Kenney, violin; Yura Lee, Misha Amory, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello

Liszt “Funérailles” from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses for Piano (1849)
Inon Barnatan, piano

Fauré Quartet No. 2 in G minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 45 (1885-86)
Inon Barnatan, piano; Alexi Kenney, violin; Misha Amory, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello


Baroque Traditions: Baroque Concertos
Sunday, December 5, 2021, 5:00 pm
Tuesday, December 7, 2021, 7:30 pm

Albinoni Concerto in D minor for Oboe, Strings, and Continuo, Op. 9, No. 2 (1722)
Stephen Taylor, oboe; Ani Kavafian, James Thompson, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Edward Arron, cello; Anthony Manzo, bass; Michael Sponseller, harpsichord

Telemann Concerto in E major for Flute, Oboe, Viola, Strings, and Continuo, TWV 53:E1 (c. 1730-40)
Sooyun Kim, flute; Stephen Taylor, oboe; Paul Neubauer, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; Michael Sponseller, harpsichord

Locatelli Concerto in G minor for Violin, Strings, and Continuo, Op. 3, No. 6 (1733)
James Thompson, Francisco Fullana, Ani Kavafian, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Edward Arron, cello; Anthony Manzo, bass; Michael Sponseller, harpsichord

Tartini Concerto in A major for Cello, Strings, and Continuo (c. 1745-52)
Mihai Marica, cello; James Thompson, Francisco Fullana, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Edward Arron, cello; Anthony Manzo, bass; Michael Sponseller, harpsichord

Vivaldi Concerto in D major for Flute, Strings, and Continuo, RV 428, “Il gardellino” (1729)
Sooyun Kim, flute; Francisco Fullana, Ani Kavafian, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; Anthony Manzo, bass; Michael Sponseller, harpsichord

Bach Concerto in C minor for Oboe, Violin, Strings, and Continuo, BWV 1060R (c. 1736)
Ani Kavafian, violin; Stephen Taylor, oboe; James Thompson, Francisco Fullana, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Edward Arron, cello; Michael Sponseller, harpsichord


Baroque Traditions: Solo Bach
Friday, December 10, 2021, 7:30 pm
Sunday, December 12, 2021, 5:00 pm

Bach Partita No. 3 in E major for Violin, BWV 1006 (c. 1720)
Bella Hristova, violin

Bach Suite in G minor for Lute, BWV 995 (c. 1730)
Paul O’Dette, lute

Bach French Suite in B minor for Keyboard, BWV 814 (c. 1722-25)
Gilles Vonsattel, piano

Bach Partitas on O Gott, du frommer Gott for Organ, BWV 767 (c. 1707-08)
Stephen Tharp, organ

Bach Suite No. 6 in D major for Cello, BWV 1012 (c. 1720)
Colin Carr, cello


Baroque Traditions: Brandenburg Concertos
Friday, December 17, 2021, 7:30 pm
Sunday, December 19, 2021, 5:00 pm
Tuesday, December 21, 2021, 7:30 pm

Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046 (1720)
Daniel Phillips, Arnaud Sussmann, Sean Lee, violin; Che-Yen Chen, viola; Dmitri Atapine, cello; Joseph Conyers, bass; Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord; Stephen Taylor, Randall Ellis, James Austin Smith, oboe; Marc Goldberg, bassoon; Stewart Rose, David Byrd-Marrow, horn

Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 (1720)
Sean Lee, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Che-Yen Chen, Yura Lee, Daniel Phillips, viola; Timothy Eddy, Dmitri Atapine, Inbal Segev, cello; Joseph Conyers, bass; Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord

Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050 (1720)
Sean Lee, violin; Ransom Wilson, flute; Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord; Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Daniel Phillips, viola; Timothy Eddy, cello; Joseph Conyers, bass

Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 (1720)
Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Tara Helen O'Connor, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; David Washburn, trumpet; Alexander Sitkovetsky, Sean Lee, violin; Yura Lee, viola; Timothy Eddy, cello; Marc Goldberg, bassoon; Joseph Conyers, bass; Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord

Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051 (1720)
Yura Lee, Che-Yen Chen, viola; Dmitri Atapine, Inbal Segev, Timothy Eddy, cello; Joseph Conyers, bass; Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord

Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049 (1720)
Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Tara Helen O'Connor, Ransom Wilson, flute; Sean Lee, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Che-Yen Chen, viola; Inbal Segev, cello; Joseph Conyers, bass; Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord

David Shifrin (Photo: Tristan Cook)

Beethoven, Schulhoff, and Dvořák
Tuesday, January 18, 2022, 7:30 pm

Beethoven Quintet in C minor for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, Op. 104 (1794-95, arr. 1817)
Kristin Lee, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Matthew Lipman, Paul Neubauer, viola; Keith Robinson, cello

Schulhoff Sextet for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Two Cellos (1920, 1924)
Kristin Lee, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Matthew Lipman, Paul Neubauer, viola; Keith Robinson, Inbal Segev, cello

Dvořák Sextet in A major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Two Cellos, Op. 48 (1878)
Arnaud Sussmann, Kristin Lee, violin; Paul Neubauer, Matthew Lipman, viola; Inbal Segev, Keith Robinson, cello


Romantic Perspectives
Sunday, January 30, 2022, 5:00 pm

Brahms Scherzo, WoO 2, from “F-A-E” Sonata for Violin and Piano (1853)
Aaron Boyd, violin; Wu Han, piano

Mahler Quartet in A minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello (1876)
Wu Han, piano; Danbi Um, violin; Timothy Ridout, viola; Sihao He, cello

Dvořák Quintet in A minor for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, Op. 1 (1861)
Aaron Boyd, Danbi Um, violin; Timothy Ridout, Paul Neubauer, viola; Sihao He, cello

Franck Quintet in F minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello (1879)
Wu Han, piano; Danbi Um, Aaron Boyd, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Sihao He, cello


Quartetto di Cremona
Tuesday, February 1, 2022, 7:30 pm

This fabulous quartet finally makes its long-awaited Lincoln Center debut on CMS’s International Quartet series. In the quartet’s 20-year existence it has established itself as one of Europe’s leading ensembles, and the quartet’s interpretations and performance appeal has endeared it to a wide and loyal audience. Especially exciting in this program is the pairing of two of the most challenging works in the quartet literature: the somber, intense first quartet of Prokofiev, and Schoenberg’s epic first quartet, still in the hyper-expressive style of his early period. These works together will test both the stamina and artistry of the Cremona Quartet, and for a taste of something completely different, we will also hear them in the effervescent, operatic clarinet quintet by Carl Maria von Weber, with veteran CMS clarinetist David Shifrin.

Prokofiev Quartet No. 1 in B minor for Strings, Op. 50 (1930)
Quartetto di Cremona (Cristiano Gualco, Paolo Andreoli, violin; Simone Gramaglia, viola; Giovanni Scaglione, cello)

Weber Quintet in B-flat major for Clarinet, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 34 (1811-15)
David Shifrin, clarinet; Quartetto di Cremona (Cristiano Gualco, Paolo Andreoli, violin; Simone Gramaglia, viola; Giovanni Scaglione, cello)

Schoenberg Quartet No. 1 in D minor for Strings, Op. 7 (1904-05)
Quartetto di Cremona (Cristiano Gualco, Paolo Andreoli, violin; Simone Gramaglia, viola; Giovanni Scaglione, cello) 

Alexander Sitkovetsky and Wu Qian (Photo: CherylynnTsushima)


Winter Festival: Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time
Friday, February 4, 2022, 7:30 pm

Brahms Sonata in F minor for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 120, No. 1 (1894)
Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet; Wu Qian, piano

Stravinsky Suite italienne for Violin and Piano (1932)
Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Wu Qian, piano

Messiaen Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano (1940-41)
Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet; Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Mihai Marica, cello; Wu Qian, piano


Winter Festival: Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet
Sunday, February 13, 2022, 5:00 pm

Beethoven Sonata in D major for Violin and Piano, Op. 12, No. 1 (1797-98)
Angelo Xiang Yu, violin; Juho Pohjonen, piano

Shostakovich Quintet in G minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 57 (1940)
Juho Pohjonen, piano; Angelo Xiang Yu, Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Paul Watkins, cello

Mendelssohn Trio No. 1 in D minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 49 (1839)
Juho Pohjonen, piano; Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Paul Watkins, cello


Winter Festival: Beethoven’s Piano Trio, Op. 1, No. 1
Friday, February 25, 2022, 7:30 pm

Beethoven Trio in E-flat major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 1, No. 1 (1793)
Wu Han, piano; Chad Hoopes, violin; David Finckel, cello

Debussy Petite Suite for Piano, Four Hands (1886-89)
Wu Han, Jon Kimura Parker, piano

Chausson Concerto in D major for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet, Op. 21 (1889-91)
Paul Huang, violin; Jon Kimura Parker, piano; Francisco Fullana, Chad Hoopes, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello
 

Winter Festival: Mendelssohn’s Octet
Sunday, March 6, 2022, 5:00 pm
Tuesday, March 8, 2022, 7:30 pm

Enescu Octet in C major for Strings, Op. 7 (1900)
Kristin Lee, Danbi Um, Soovin Kim, Sean Lee, violin; Paul Neubauer, Arnaud Sussmann, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, Keith Robinson, cello

Shostakovich Prelude and Scherzo for String Octet, Op. 11 (1924-25)
Danbi Um, Sean Lee, Soovin Kim, Kristin Lee, violin; Paul Neubauer, Arnaud Sussmann, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, Keith Robinson, cello

Mendelssohn Octet in E-flat major for Strings, Op. 20 (1825)
Sean Lee, Kristin Lee, Soovin Kim, Danbi Um, violin; Arnaud Sussmann, Paul Neubauer, viola; Keith Robinson, Nicholas Canellakis, cello
 

Winter Festival: Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G minor
Tuesday, March 15, 2022, 7:30 pm

Mozart Quartet in G minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, K. 478 (1785)
Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Timothy Ridout, viola; David Requiro, cello

Mendelssohn Quintet No. 1 in A major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, Op. 18 (1826; rev. 1832)
Arnaud Sussmann, Alexi Kenney, violin; Timothy Ridout, Yura Lee, viola; David Requiro, cello

Strauss Quartet in C minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 13 (1883-84)
Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Alexi Kenney, violin; Yura Lee, viola; David Requiro, cello


Winter Festival: Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night
Friday, March 18, 2022, 7:30 pm

This transplanted concert from our 50th anniversary season (postponed due to the pandemic) is representative of that entire season’s programming, which told the story of chamber music’s evolution by spotlighting consequential works in our art form’s history. As with the other six concerts from that season that make up our 2021-22 Winter Festival, this one celebrates that extraordinary work of Schoenberg that combined not only Brahmsian Romanticism with flights of modernism, but also ushered into the chamber music genre a true tone poem sextet, which tells the story of conflict and reconciliation between lovers. Composed at the sunset of the 19th century and the dawn of the 20th, the work bridges ages and styles with such magic that it is now regarded as classic, unique in the chamber music literature. 

Boccherini Quintet in C major for Two Violins, Viola, and Two Cellos, G. 324, “La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid” (1780)
Yura Lee, Angelo Xiang Yu, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, Sihao He, cello

Schubert Notturno in E-flat major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, D. 897, Op. 148 (1828)
Orion Weiss, piano; Yura Lee, violin; Sihao He, cello

Britten Phantasy Quartet for Oboe, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 2 (1932)
James Austin Smith, oboe; Angelo Xiang Yu, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello

Debussy “La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune” from Préludes, Book II for Piano (1913)
Debussy “Clair de lune” from Suite bergamasque for Piano (c. 1890; rev. 1905)
Orion Weiss, piano

Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht [Transfigured Night] for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Two Cellos, Op. 4 (1899)
Yura Lee, Angelo Xiang Yu, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, Matthew Lipman, viola; Sihao He, Nicholas Canellakis, cello


Winter Festival: Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
Sunday, March 27, 2022, 5:00 pm
Tuesday, March 29, 2022, 7:30 pm

Ravel Sonata for Violin and Piano (1923-27)
Ida Kavafian, violin; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano

Marsalis Selections from At the Octoroon Balls for String Quartet (CMS Co-Commission) (1995)
Orion String Quartet (Daniel Phillips, Todd Phillips, violin; Steven Tenenbom, viola; Timothy Eddy, cello) 

Milhaud La création du monde for Piano Quintet, Op. 81 (1923)
Orion Weiss, piano; Orion String Quartet (Daniel Phillips, Todd Phillips, violin; Steven Tenenbom, viola; Timothy Eddy, cello)

Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue for Piano, Four Hands (arr. Henry Levine) (1924)
Orion Weiss, Anne-Marie McDermott, piano


An Evening with Escher
Sunday, April 3, 2022, 5:00 pm

Dvořák Quartet in E-flat major for Strings, Op. 51 (1878-79)
Escher String Quartet (Adam Barnett-Hart, Brendan Speltz, violin; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Brook Speltz, cello)

Bartók Quartet No. 3 for Strings (1927)
Escher String Quartet (Adam Barnett-Hart, Brendan Speltz, violin; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Brook Speltz, cello)

Tchaikovsky Quartet No. 3 in E-flat minor for Strings, Op. 30 (1876)
Escher String Quartet (Adam Barnett-Hart, Brendan Speltz, violin; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Brook Speltz, cello)


Evolving Ensembles
Friday, April 8, 2022, 7:30 pm

Beethoven Trio in G major for Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 9, No. 1 (1797-98)
Stella Chen, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; David Requiro, cello

Mozart Quintet in C minor for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, K. 406 (1782, arr. 1787)
Stella Chen, Ani Kavafian, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, Paul Neubauer, viola; Mihai Marica, cello

Brahms Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Two Cellos, Op. 18 (1859-60)
Ani Kavafian, Stella Chen, violin; Paul Neubauer, Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; David Requiro, Mihai Marica, cello

Gilbert Kalish (top),  Bridget Kibbey (left), Juho Pohjonen (right), and Gloria Chien
(Photos: Tristan Cook)


The Innovators: Debussy to Crumb
Tuesday, May 3, 2022, 7:30 pm


Debussy Selected Songs for Voice and Piano
Tony Arnold, soprano; Juho Pohjonen, piano

Stravinsky The Rite of Spring for Piano, Four Hands (1911-13)
Juho Pohjonen, Gloria Chien, piano

Ives Selected Songs for Voice and Piano
Tony Arnold, soprano; Gilbert Kalish, piano

Crumb Ancient Voices of Children for Soprano, Boy Soprano, Oboe, Mandolin, Harp, Piano, and Percussion (1970)
Tony Arnold, soprano; Gilbert Kalish, piano; James Austin Smith, oboe; William Anderson, mandolin; Bridget Kibbey, harp; Ayano Kataoka, Ian David Rosenbaum, Daniel Druckman, percussion


Carnival of the Animals
Sunday, May 15, 2022, 5:00 pm
Tuesday, May 17, 2022, 7:30 pm

Additional artists to be confirmed.

Biber Sonata representativa in A major for Violin and Continuo, C. 146 (B. IV 184) (c. 1669)
Violinist to be announced; Joshua Gindele, cello; Michael Brown, harpischord

Handel “Sweet Bird” for Soprano, Flute, Cello, and Continuo from L’Allegro, il Pensieroso ed il Moderato (1740)
Susanna Phillips, soprano; Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Joshua Gindele, cello; Lucille Chung, harpischord

Copland "I Bought Me a Cat" for Voice and Piano from Old American Songs, Set 1
Susanna Phillips, soprano; Michael Brown, piano

Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune for Ensemble (1892–94, arr. 1920)
Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Stephen Taylor, oboe; Jose Franch-Ballester, clarinet; Miró Quartet (Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer, violin; John Largess, viola; Joshua Gindele, cello) Xavier Foley, double bass; Michael Brown, harmonium; Lucille Chung, piano; Ian David Rosenbaum, percussion

Saint-Saëns Le carnaval des animaux for Ensemble (1886)
Michael Brown, Lucille Chung, piano; Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Jose French-Ballester, clarinet; Miró Quartet (Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer, violin; John Largess, viola; Joshua Gindele, cello); Xavier Foley, double bass; Ayano Kataoka, Ian David Rosenbaum, percussion

Additional works to be announced 
 

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 2020, CMS’s online offerings included an expanded Summer Evenings series, and the 2020-21 season included 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 US and Canada, with over 60 presenters participating. In addition to its robust digital offerings, CMS continued to seek out every safe opportunity for its musicians to perform live: in December 2020, The Chamber Music Society became the first US ensemble to tour Taiwan since the pandemic began, with seven musicians performing five 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.

CMS thanks the following for their leadership support: Ann S. Bowers, the Jerome L. Greene FoundationThe Achelis and Bodman FoundationCarmel Cultural Endowment for the ArtsJudy and Tony Evnin, the Marion Goldin Charitable Gift Fund, the Irving Harris FoundationElinor and Andrew Hoover, the Estate of Andrea J. Klepetar-FallekThe New York Community TrustMr. and Mrs. James P. O'ShaughnessyThe Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., the Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Foundation, and the Howard Gilman Foundation.

CMS digital initiatives are supported, in part, by The Alphadyne FoundationThe Hauser Foundation, the Sidney E. Frank Foundation, and MetLife Foundation.

CMS education and outreach programs are made possible, in part, with support from the Chisholm FoundationColburn Foundation, the Tiger Baron FoundationCon Edison, the Hearst FoundationsAlice 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 FoundationRockefeller Brothers FundThe Gladys Krieble Delmas FoundationFrancis Goelet Charitable Lead TrustsSamuel 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.

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