Chamber Music Society Presents Baroque Festival In December

CMS continues its 50th anniversary celebration with its annual holiday Baroque festival throughout the month of December. Bach's "Goldberg" Variations, composed near the end of his life, will be performed on December 3rd by Jeffrey Kahane, one of a handful of masters of this work. Kahane will begin the performance with remarks on this monumental piece, which is an immersive experience during which the listener journeys through time and space. The next day, Kahane will give a free master class on solo piano works by Bach and other composers (December 4th).

The following week, a concert of six Baroque works will lead with Corelli's famed "Christmas" Concerto, a masterpiece of tone painting that pairs the high drama of the Nativity with the soothing pastoral visions of the nearby shepherds at the work's conclusion. The Corelli concerto will be followed by pieces by Bach, Tartini, Farina, Sammartini, and, as an added fillip to the seasonal mood, Vivaldi's "Winter" from The Four Seasons. This December 8th concert will have an encore on December 10th.

On December 13th, 15th, and 17th those pillars of festive holiday programming, Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, will be presented. With their variety of novel instrumentations and irresistible energy, the Brandenburg Concertos have become essential holiday listening for New Yorkers. And on December 20th, CMS will perform the Brandenburg Concertos at the Harris Theater in Chicago as part of their long-standing residency in the Windy City.

Tour dates for CMS in December include three concerts in the Far East: November 30th at the National Concert Hall in Taipei; December 3rd at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts-Weiwuying, Kaohsiung; and December 5th at the Jiangsu Centre for the Performing Arts in Nanjing. All programs will feature a discovery of Russian compositions.

December 2019 Concerts

ALICE TULLY HALL

1741: Bach's "Goldberg" Variations -Tuesday 12/3/19, 7:30 PM

Bach: Aria with Diverse Variations for Keyboard, BWV 988, "Goldberg Variations" (1741)

Jeffrey Kahane, piano

This performance begins with remarks on the piece by pianist Jeffrey Kahane, with excerpts performed by the Calidore String Quartet.

1713: Corelli's Christmas Concerto - Sunday 12/8/19, 5:00 PM and Tuesday 12/10/19, 7:30 PM

Corelli: Concerto Grosso in G minor for Two Violins, Cello, Strings, and Continuo, Op. 6, No. 8,

(published 1713)

Bach: Trio Sonata in C minor for Flute, Violin, and Continuo, from Musical Offering, BWV 1079 (1747)

Tartini: Sonata in G minor for Violin and Continuo, "Devil's Trill" (before 1756)

Farina: Capriccio stravagante for Violin, Two Violas, Cello, and Continuo (1627)

Sammartini: Concerto in F major for Flute, Strings, and Continuo

Vivaldi: Concerto in F minor for Violin, Strings, and Continuo, RV 297, Op. 9, No. 4, "Winter" from The Four Seasons (1725)

Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord; Adam Barnett-Hart, Ani Kavafian, Kristin Lee, Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Yura Lee, Matthew Lipman, viola; Estelle Choi, Timothy Eddy, cello; Edgar Meyer, double bass; Adam Walker, flute

1720: Bach's Brandenburg Concertos - Friday 12/13/19, 7:30 PM, Sunday 12/15/19, 5:00 PM,

and Tuesday, 12/17/19, 7:30 PM

Bach: The Complete Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051 (1720)

Hyeyeon Park, piano; Francisco Fullana, Bella Hristova, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Daniel Phillips, violin/viola; Hsin-Yun Huang, Richard O'Neill, viola; Dmitri Atapine, Nicholas Canellakis, Colin Carr, cello; Xavier Foley, double bass; Sooyun Kim, Tara Helen O'Connor, flute; Randall Ellis, James Austin Smith, Stephen Taylor, oboe; Marc Goldberg, bassoon; David Jolley, Eric Reed, horn; David Washburn, trumpet

ROSE STUDIO

Master class-Solo Piano Works by Bach and others - Wednesday 12/4/19, 11:00 AM

Jeffrey Kahane, piano

THE HARRIS THEATER, CHICAGO, IL

1720: Bach's Brandenburg Concertos - Friday 12/20/19, 7:30 PM

Bach: The Complete Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051 (1720)

Hyeyeon Park, piano; Francisco Fullana, Bella Hristova, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Daniel Phillips, violin/viola; Hsin-Yun Huang, Richard O'Neill, viola; Dmitri Atapine, Nicholas Canellakis, Colin Carr, cello; Xavier Foley, double bass; Sooyun Kim, Tara Helen O'Connor, flute; Randall Ellis, James Austin Smith, Stephen Taylor, oboe; Marc Goldberg, bassoon; David Jolley, Eric Reed, horn; David Washburn, trumpet

NATIONAL CONCERT HALL, TAIPEI

Tuesday 11/30/19, 7:30 PM

Shostakovich: Impromptu for Viola and Piano (1931)

Shostakovich: Trio No. 1 in C minor for Piano, Viola, and Cello, Op. 8 (1923)

Arensky: Quartet No. 2 in A minor for Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 35 (1894)

Tchaikovsky: Trio in A minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 50 (1881-82)

Wu Han, piano; Paul Huang, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; David Finckel, cello

NATIONAL KAOHSIUNG CENTER FOR THE ARTS-WEIWUYING, KAOHSIUNG

Tuesday 12/3/19, 7:30 PM

Rachmaninov: Trio élégiaque in G minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello (1892)

Prokofiev: Sonata in D major for Violin and Piano, Op. 94a (1943, arr. 1944)

Taneyev: Quintet in G minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 30 (1910-11)

Wu Han, piano; Paul Huang, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; David Finckel, cello

JIANGSU CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, NANJING

Thursday 12/5/19, 7:30 PM

Rachmaninov: Trio élégiaque in G minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello (1892)

Prokofiev: Sonata in D major for Violin and Piano, Op. 94a (1943, arr. 1944)

Taneyev: Quintet in G minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 30 (1910-11)

Wu Han, piano; Paul Huang, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; David Finckel, cello

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.