Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

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.

Upcoming Episodes
Latest Episodes

Exquisite Winds

July 21, 2026, 10:00 pm

American Viewpoints

July 28, 2026, 10:00 pm

Violinist Arnaud Sussman holds a violin in front of a wood background

Romantic Masters

May 13, 2025

The works on this program wear their hearts on their sleeves. The first, the work of a young man with a brilliant career ahead of him and the other, by a well-known genius with an extremely prolific output. Czech composer and violinist, Joseph Suk was not only Antonín Dvořák’s star composition pupil but also the composer’s future son-in-law. Suk’s Op. ...

String Quartet Plus One

May 6, 2025

A string quartet on its own can sound like a whole orchestra, or like four individuals humming as softly as they can. Giacomo Puccini highlights the string quartet’s strengths in his Scherzo for String Quartet featuring moments of melodic invention, the sparkle of string technique, and the richness of harmonies for these four voices. However, add a contrasting instrument to ...

Sergei Rachmaninoff looks over his shoulder at the camera at the piano at Villa Senar

Russian Lyricism

April 29, 2025

This program emphasizes the passion and the lyricism of 19th- and early 20th-century Russian music. For an introductory taste, the program begins with a short variation set that Mikhail Glinka wrote on a theme by Mozart, adding a Russian spin to a Classical tune. Next, the beauty of the Russian language and the spirit of the music from this nation ...

Late 19th Century France

April 22, 2025

The works on this program were born out of the emotions experienced moving into a new stage of life while still mourning the previous one — emotions captured well by the two French composers featured. César Franck’s childhood was one defined by his father who pushed him into a world of music and performing that, while showcased his budding talent, ...

Britten and Mendelssohn

April 15, 2025

This program features a concert of incredibly delightful music, by two of history’s most popular composers, though the works themselves are rarely heard. Both pieces were written while the composers were barely out of their adolescent years, at the dawn of stellar careers. The great English composer Benjamin Britten was only twenty-one when he began composing his Suite for Violin ...

America’s Musical Roots

April 8, 2025

Harry T. Burleigh, an African American singer and composer, befriended Antonín Dvořák while he was a student at the National Conservatory.

The Calidore String Quartet poses in an ornate room

Culturally Inspired

April 1, 2025

Travel across the world in the space of an hour on this program, with music by Jean Françaix, Paul Schoenfield, and Sergei Prokofiev.

Schubert’s Ingenuity

March 25, 2025

Franz Schubert packed an unbelievable amount of composing into his 31 years.

Berg and Brahms for Strings

March 18, 2025

Both Alban Berg and Johannes Brahms hail from the Viennese school of classical composing and the works -featured on this program showcase the strength and musicality that came out of that period.

French Treasures

March 11, 2025

Both composers on this program — Ernest Chausson and Camille Saint-Saëns — hail from the land of instrumental color and elegance, France.

Mozart & Stravinsky

February 25, 2025

Both composers were supreme craftsmen who wrote efficiently, composed complex yet transparent, well-balanced works, and both had keen senses of humor provoking listeners with surprises.

Mendelssohn’s Magnificence

February 18, 2025

Along with his siblings, Felix Mendelssohn began music instruction early in his life, performed his first concert at just nine years old, and composed his first symphony at fifteen.

Disparate Duos

February 11, 2025

Two players is all you need to make great chamber music in duos by Zoltán Kodály and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Taste of Scandinavia

February 4, 2025

Born only 20 years apart, Danish composer Carl Nielsen and Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg represent a fruitful tradition of skilled Scandinavian composers.

Miró Quartet: Ginastera

January 28, 2025

We travel to Argentina, a country rich in history, culture, geography, gastronomy, and folklore for music by Alberto Ginastera, one of the 20th century’s most important composers.