Seattle Chamber Music Society Unveils 2025 Winter Festival

Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS) announces the programming for its 2025 Winter Festival, scheduled from January 24 to February 2. The two-week exploration, featuring music by 18 different composers, will showcase the most iconic works from 1850-1950, performed by the best musicians in the world.

Since 1982, SCMS has been a cornerstone of Seattle's classical music scene, presenting world-class performances and enriching the community with its mission to make high-quality chamber music accessible to all. Every year, the SCMS Winter and Summer Festivals attract top musicians from around the globe to perform extraordinary celebrations of music at Nordstrom Recital Hall, Benaroya Hall. Patrons worldwide also enjoy the concerts through the SCMS Virtual Concert Hall.

"Our 2025 Winter Festival is a celebration of the best our art form has to offer" said James Ehnes, the Gilbert Omenn and Martha Darling Artistic Director of SCMS. "It's exhilarating to witness the alchemy of these world-class artists performing in unique chamber music contexts and an absolute thrill to share this incredible music with audiences near and far," he adds.

The 2025 Winter Festival promises to exemplify the excellence, creativity, and passion that defines Seattle Chamber Music Society. Week 1 will transport audiences to the second half of the 19th century, featuring masterworks from Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Dvo?ák, alongside exciting discoveries from Amy Beach and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. In week 2, concert-goers venture into the 20th century, where the program explores the progression from late-Romantic brilliance to the bold, dramatic language of composers like Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and Bartók.

To order single tickets or season subscriptions, click HERE.

WEEK 1: 1850-1900

—Friday, January 24—

Concert | 7:30 p.m.

• Amy Beach: Romance for Violin and Piano, Op. 23
  Bella Hristova, Gloria Chien

• Cécile Chaminade: 3 Morceaux for Violin and Piano, Op. 31
  Bella Hristova, Gloria Chien

• Alexander Borodin: String Quintet in F minor
  Timothy Chooi, Njioma Grevious, Jonathan Vinocour, Yegor Dyachkov, Efe Baltac?gil

• Johannes Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
  Ieva Jokubaviciute, Erin Keefe, Blake Pouliot, Rebecca Albers, Ani Aznavoorian

Free Pre-Concert Recital | 6:30 p.m. (In-Person Only)

• César Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major, M. 8
  Timothy Chooi, Gloria Chien

—Saturday, January 25—

Concert | 7:30 p.m.

• Robert Schumann: Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105
  Blake Pouliot, Ieva Jokubaviciute

• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 1
  Gloria Chien, Njioma Grevious, Bella Hristova, Rebecca Albers, Yegor Dyachkov

• Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11, “Accordion”
  Erin Keefe, Timothy Chooi, Jonathan Vinocour, Ani Aznavoorian

Free Pre-Concert Recital | 6:30 p.m. (In-Person Only)

• Nokuthula Ngwenyama: Miasma

• Dobrinka Tabakova: Pirin

• David Ludwig: Moto Perpetuo

• Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Fantasy for Solo Violin
  Bella Hristova 

—Sunday, January 26—

Concert | 2 p.m.

• Antonín Dvorák: Selections from Cypresses for String Quartet, B. 152
  Bella Hristova, Njioma Grevious, Jonathan Vinocour, Ani Aznavoorian

• Camille Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75
  Timothy Chooi, Ieva Jokubaviciute

• César Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 14
  Gloria Chien, Blake Pouliot, Erin Keefe, Rebecca Albers, Yegor Dyachkov

Free Pre-Concert Recital | 1 p.m. (In-Person Only)

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Duo in G Major for violin and viola, K 423

• Bohuslav Martin?: Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola, H. 313

Blake Pouliot, Jonathan Vinocour
 

WEEK 2: 1900-1950

—Friday, January 31—

Concert | 7:30 p.m.

• Béla Bartók: Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion, Sz. 110
  Alessio Bax, Orion Weiss, Eric Schweikert , Michael Werner

• Georges Enescu: String Octet in C Major, Op. 7
  James Ehnes, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Jun Iwasaki, Grace Park, Che-Yen Chen, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Edward Arron, Bion Tsang

Free Pre-Concert Recital | 6:30 p.m. (In-Person Only)

Academy for Chamber Music

• Anton Arensky: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32

1. Allegro moderato
Eura Trio
Taiyo Oishi, piano; Rachel Jung, violin; Charlie Lee, cello

• Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44, No. 1
  1. Molto allegro vivace
  Le Quatuor de la Lune
  Hana Gottesman & Emma Le Metzger, violins; Jayden Chae, viola; Leyna Kitahama, cello 

—Saturday, February 1—

Concert | 7:30 p.m.

• Rebecca Clarke: Sonata for Viola and Piano
  Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Orion Weiss

• Sergei Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 92
  Grace Park, Jun Iwasaki, Che-Yen Chen, Bion Tsang

• Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Suite for Piano Left Hand, 2 Violins, and Cello, Op. 23
  Alessio Bax, James Ehnes, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Edward Arron

Free Pre-Concert Recital | 6:30 p.m. (In-Person Only)

• Erich Wolfgang Korngold

  • Much Ado About Nothing, suite for violin & piano, Op. 11

  • “Tanzlied des Pierrot” from Die tote Stadt, Op. 12 for Violin and Piano

  • “Marietta’s Lied” from Die tote Stadt, Op. 12 for Violin and Piano

   James Ehnes, Orion Weiss

—Sunday, February 2—

Concert | 2 p.m.

• William Grant Still: Suite for Violin and Piano
  Jun Iwasaki, Alessio Bax

• Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
  Grace Park, Efe Baltac?gil, Orion Weiss

• Arnold Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4
  James Ehnes, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Che-Yen Chen, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Edward Arron, Bion Tsang

Free Pre-Concert Recital | 1 p.m. (In-Person Only)

• Edvard Grieg: Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor, Op. 45
  Grace Park, Alessio Bax

Subscriber Benefits

• Premier Package subscribers receive FREE access to the Virtual Concert Hall
• ??????4-Concert and 3-Concert Series subscribers can purchase a Virtual Concert Hall subscription for 50% off
• Additional single tickets for subscribers start at $55. Single-ticket prices for non-subscribers start at $65.
• Virtual Concert Hall subscribers gain access to every concert on-demand until March 17, 2025.

Subscriber Benefits

• Premier Package subscribers receive
• FREE access to the Virtual Concert Hall
• 4-Concert and 3-Concert Series
• subscribers can purchase a Virtual Concert Hall subscription for 50% off
• Additional single tickets for
• subscribers start at $55. Single-ticket prices for non-subscribers start at $65.
• Virtual Concert Hall subscribers gain
• access to every concert on-demand until March 17, 2025.

 

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