Tuesday at 10:00 pm
David Finckel and Wu Han, artistic directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Chamber music performances from the world’s most famous performing arts complex
Recorded live in New York's Alice Tully Hall, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center series features stellar performances. The artists of CMS, a multi-generational selection of expert chamber musicians, constitute an evolving repertory company capable of presenting chamber music of every instrumentation, style, and historical period. Performing repertoire from over three centuries, and numerous premieres by living composers, CMS offers programs curated to provide listeners a comprehensive perspective on the art of chamber music.
New and Old, But Always Timeless
June 30, 2026, 10:00 pm
We officially ring in the summertime by comparing two works of chamber music beloved by CMS musicians: Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat major, and a new work by Patrick Castillo titled Incident for Violin and Piano.
Shostakovich Quartets
February 3, 2026
Throughout his life, Shostakovich wrote a total of 15 works for string quartets. He also wrote a number of works for other instrument chamber groups, including song cycles, sonatas, and more. Tonight’s program pairs Shostakovich’s Quartet no. 13 in B minor with a rarely heard song cycle. From Jewish Folk Poetry takes inspiration from a collection of Jewish folk songs published ...
Vienna
January 27, 2026
Sounds of Vienna from two of the city’s most famous Romantic composers: Franz Schubert and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Sonic Spectrum
January 20, 2026
A selection of string ensemble works from 1644 to present time. Discover how various composers explored sonic textures in their writing, expanding their musical language.
Classical Dawn
January 13, 2026
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn were two composers who dominated the era of classical music, forming the sound and styles that would define nearly 70 years of music. Explore three works from the early part of the classical music era.
Danzas y Canciones
January 6, 2026
A program of Spanish dances and songs kicks off the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s 2026 offerings. Works by three composers from Spain are paired together, highlighting music for voice, piano, cello, and violin.
American Panorama
December 30, 2025
In 2023, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center commissioned a work from then CSO composer-in-residence Jessie Montgomery. The resulting work, Musings for Two Violins, was written with two of the organization’s violinists in mind: Paul Huang and Danbi Um. This work is presented alongside other great chamber works by American composers, including Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky, and 20th ...
Strings Aplenty
December 23, 2025
Three beloved works for chamber orchestra are presented by three ensembles from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
The Royals
December 16, 2025
Music of aristocrats and the musicians hired to work for their courts. During the Baroque-era, having a rich patron (often from the aristocracy) ensured stability in the life of a composer: a steady job, a group of musicians at their disposal, and sometimes even a place to live. Vivaldi served the Prince of Darmstadt at the Mantuan Court; Johann Sebastian ...
Baroque “Fives”
December 9, 2025
Music for configurations of five, including Luigi Boccherini’s Quintet in E major and an arrangement of Jean-Féry Rebel’s ballet Les Élémens for five musicians. We will also explore the concept of the “Baroque” circle of fifths, (I–IV–vii–iii–vi–ii–V–I) which was a stalwart of harmonic progression during the Baroque era in music.
Worlds Apart
December 2, 2025
Two works that come from completely different soundscapes, yet share connecting threads of innovation. Mandolinist Avi Avital is the soloist in Vivaldi’s D Major Concerto for lute; pianist Wu Han joins a string quartet for Sergei Taneyev’s Quintet in G minor.
For Three
November 25, 2025
These aren’t your usual string trios. Instead of a configuration involving violin, viola, and cello, each of these chamber works is arranged in a slightly unconventional style. Beethoven’s serenade calls for flute, violin, and viola, while Niccolò Paganini features the other instrument he was well known for: the classical guitar.
Quatre Mains
November 18, 2025
Music for four hands (or “quatre mains” as the French say). We begin with a piece for two pianos from French composer Claude Debussy. Then, we hear how Debussy and Stravinsky got together to work on one of the 20th century’s most iconic pieces: The Rite of Spring.
Prelude to Modernism
November 11, 2025
At the dawn of the 20th century, radical changes were happening across the musical landscape. One of those was the slow development of an aesthetic movement called Modernism: a shift away from traditional composition methods. But before experiments of atonality and complex rhythms were popularized by artists like Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók, composers were veering from traditional forms in ...
Friends and Rivals
November 4, 2025
Friends or rivals? The interpersonal relationships between composers throughout history has been fraught with moments of tension as well as brotherhood. From the initially frigid relationship between Brahms and Tchaikovsky, to Joan Tower’s admiration of George Crumb, learn more about these friends (and rivals) through some of their beautiful, intimate chamber works.
Musically Inspired
October 28, 2025
Music inspired by other eras is the common thread linking these next two pieces of music. Maurice Ravel looked to Baroque music dance suites when constructing his famous Le tombeau de Couperin, and dedicated each movement to someone whose life was lost during World War I. Franz Schubert borrowed slightly from literature, slightly from Beethoven, but most of all from ...
The British Are Coming
October 21, 2025
It’s a British invasion of the best sort! Two wonderful pieces of music by composers from the isle are paired together: first a song of Ralph Vaughan Williams, and later a sextet by Frank Bridge.
American Winds
October 14, 2025
Instruments from the wind family play a particularly important role in tonight’s playlist. We’re shining a spotlight on a select handful of works, written by American composers, for this subset of musical instruments.
Night at the Theater
October 7, 2025
A selection of music inspired by (or created for) various plays, arranged for solo instrument and piano. Musicians include Danbi Um, Orion Wess, Matthew Lipman, and more.
Total Mozart
September 30, 2025
A double dose of Mozart! First, pianists Gloria Chien and Michael Brown perform the Andante and Five Variations in G Major. Then later, Mozart’s Divertimento in E-flat Major for Violin, Viola and Cello interpreted by Arnaud Sussmann, Paul Neubauer and David Finckel.
Intimate and Infinite
September 23, 2025
The Artistic Directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, David Finckel and Wu Han, take center stage to perform Debussy’s gorgeous, plaintive Sonata for Cello and Piano. Then later, Ernest Chuasson’s Concerto in D Major for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet.
