Chamber Music Society Announces February Concerts

CMS's 50th anniversary season will celebrate the 250th birthday of Beethoven with the 2020 edition of the Winter Festival of performances of all sixteen of the master's string quartets. They will be performed in groups corresponding to the composer's early, middle, and late periods, in the order they were composed between 1798 and 1826. Performing the sixteen quartets is a mental, physical, and emotional challenge for the artists, and they are rarely performed as a set. For the CMS Winter Festival the performances will be by the critically-acclaimed Danish String Quartet.

Each Beethoven String Quartet concert will be preceded by a lecture given by CMS Co-Artistic director David Finckel on the extraordinary details of the quartets, with Finckel playing excerpts from the entire cycle as cellist, together with an ensemble of CMS musicians. The lectures will take place in the Rose Studio.

The celebration of Beethoven continues on February 6 with a presentation of the composer's complete cycle of sonatas for cello and piano. Paul Watkins (cello) and Alessio Bax (piano) will perform, in the Rose Studio.

Wind ensemble pieces from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries will surround the Bagatelles for Wind Quintet by Hungarian composer György Ligeti, on February 25. Ligeti, one of the 20th century's greatest musical innovators, will be joined on the program by compositions by Mozart, Reicha, Barber, and Françaix. A master class by horn player Radovan Vlatković will be offered on February 26.

Tour dates for CMS in February include performances of the Ligeti Bagatelles for Wind Quintet program in Madison, NJ; Spartanburg, SC; Reno, NV; Morrow, GA; and Ithaca, NY.

February 2020 Concerts

ALICE TULLY HALL

Winter Festival: The Beethoven String Quartets

Ludwig van Beethoven literally changed the course of music-not only how music sounded, but how it was

performed, listened to, and used in society. Beethoven's 16 string quartets, composed in groups corresponding

to his early, middle, and late periods, tell the complete story of one of history's greatest artists, a composer possessed of an inexplicable genius whose work continues to transcend the confines of era, style, and nationality.

Friday, 2/7/20, 7:30 PM

Quartet in D major for Strings, Op. 18, No. 3 (1798-99) Quartet in F major for Strings, Op. 18, No. 1 (1798-1800) Quartet in G major for Strings, Op. 18, No. 2 (1799-1800)

Sunday, 2/9/20, 5 PM

Quartet in C minor for Strings, Op. 18, No. 4 (1799-1800) Quartet in A major for Strings, Op. 18, No. 5 (1799-1800) Quartet in B-flat major for Strings, Op. 18, No. 6 (1800)

Tuesday, 2/11/20, 7:30 PM

Quartet in F major for Strings, Op. 59, No. 1, "Razumovsky" (1806) Quartet in E minor for Strings, Op. 59, No. 2, "Razumovsky" (1806) Quartet in C major for Strings, Op. 59, No. 3, "Razumovsky" (1806)

Friday, 2/14/20, 7:30 PM

Quartet in E-flat major for Strings, Op. 74, "Harp" (1809) Quartet in F minor for Strings, Op. 95, "Serioso" (1810-11) Quartet in E-flat major for Strings, Op. 127 (1824-25)

Sunday, 2/16/20, 5 PM

Quartet in A minor for Strings, Op. 132 (1825)

Quartet in B-flat major for Strings, Op. 130, with "Grosse Fuge," Op. 133 (1825)

Tuesday, 2/18/20, 7:30 PM

Quartet in C-sharp minor for Strings, Op. 131 (1825-26) Quartet in F major for Strings, Op. 135 (1826)

Danish String Quartet (Frederik Øland, Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin; Asbjørn Nørgaard, viola; Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, cello)

1953: Ligeti's Bagatelles for Piano and Winds - Tuesday, 2/25/20, 7:30 PM

The Hungarian György Ligeti was one of the 20th century's greatest musical innovators. This outstanding collection of internationally-renowned wind players, joined by pianist Michael Brown, offers wind ensemble classics of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.

Reicha: Quintet in D major for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn, Op. 91, No. 3 (1817-19)

Barber: Summer Music for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn, Op. 31 (1955)

Ligeti: Six Bagatelles for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn (1953)

Mozart: Quintet in E-flat major for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano, K. 452 (1784) Françaix: L'heure du berger for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano (1947)

Michael Brown, piano; Tara Helen O'Connor, flute; Stephen Taylor, oboe; Sebastian Manz, clarinet; Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Radovan Vlatković, horn

ROSE STUDIO

The Art of the Recital: Paul Watkins and Alessio Bax - Thursday 2/6/20, 7:30 PM - SOLD OUT

All-Beethoven Program

Sonata in F major for Cello and Piano, Op. 5, No. 1 (1796)

Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 5, No. 2 (1796)

Sonata in A major for Cello and Piano, Op. 69 (1807-08)

Sonata in C major for Cello and Piano, Op. 102, No. 1 (1815)

Sonata in D major for Cello and Piano, Op. 102, No. 2 (1815)

Paul Watkins, cello; Alessio Bax, piano

Pre-Concert Lectures: The Beethoven String Quartets

CMS Co-Artistic Director and cellist David Finckel reveals the extraordinary details of Beethoven's incomparable quartets in this series, performing excerpts from the entire cycle together with an ensemble of CMS musicians. Tickets are available for purchase by concert ticket-holders only.

2/7/20, 6:30 PM; 2/9/20, 4 PM; 2/11/20, 6:30 PM; 2/14/20, 6:30 PM; 2/16/20, 4 PM; and 2/18/20, 6:30 PM

Master Class - The Beethoven String Quartets: Thursday, 2/13/20, 11:00 AM

The art of interpretation and details of technique are explained as master artists share their wisdom with the next generation of chamber musicians.

Frederik Øland and Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin of the Danish String Quartet

Master Class - Winds: Wednesday, 2/26/20, 11:00 AM

Radovan Vlatković

CONCERTS ON TOUR

1953: Ligeti's Bagatelles for Piano and Winds

The Hungarian György Ligeti was one of the 20th century's greatest musical innovators. This outstanding collection of internationally-renowned wind players, joined by pianist Michael Brown, offers wind ensemble classics of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.

Reicha: Quintet in D major for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn, Op. 91, No. 3 (1817-19)

Barber: Summer Music for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn, Op. 31 (1955)

Ligeti: Six Bagatelles for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn (1953)

Mozart: Quintet in E-flat major for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano, K. 452 (1784) Françaix: L'heure du berger for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano (1947)

Michael Brown, piano; Tara Helen O'Connor, flute; Stephen Taylor, oboe; Sebastian Manz, clarinet; Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Radovan Vlatković, horn

Same program and artists as above, for the following dates:

Dorothy Young CENTER, DREW UNIVERSITY - MADISON, NJ

Saturday 2/15/20, 8:00 PM

DANIEL RECITAL HALL, CONVERSE COLLEGE - SPARTANBURG, SC

Monday 2/17/20, 7:30 PM

NIGHTINGALE CONCERT HALL - RENO, NV

Thursday 2/20/20, 7:30 PM

SPIVEY HALL, CLAYTON STATE UNIVERSITY - MORROW, GA

Sunday 2/23/20, 3:00 PM

BAILEY HALL, CORNELL UNIVERSITY - ITHACA, NY

Thursday 2/27/20, 8:00 PM

For detailed information on the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's 2019-20 season, click here; learn more about CMS artists of the season here.