New recording of Bach’s cello suites by Inbal Megiddo

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Cellist Inbal Megiddo's new recording of Bach's Cello Suites

New Zealand-based musician's new album is released on Atoll Records on October 17

 "[Inbal Megiddo is] an extremely talented, very musical musician." 
– Zubin Mehta

The cellist Inbal Megiddo explores the multitude of expressions in each of the six cello suites by J.S. Bach. Her new recording of the complete set will be released on Atoll Records (ACD233) on October 17, 2025. 

Though much has been written about the cello suites, Megiddo highlights the genius of Bach’s implied polyphony in her liner notes. “Through carefully crafted arpeggios, strategic placement of notes, and clever voice-leading, Bach creates the illusion that the listener is hearing multiple instruments.” She also writes that the Suites are, to her, a lifetime. “Like life itself, the Suites reveal new facets with each return, changing as we change, growing as we go. In this way, they become not just music to perform but companions on life’s path.” 

In addition to her passion for the music of JS Bach, Megiddo works to promote and perform the music of suppressed composers, helping to give a voice to women and minority musicians. In 2026, she releases two more recordings on the Atoll label: Works by Clara Schumann, and an album of Forbidden Composers, musicians silenced by the Nazis. 

Megiddo has performed in the great concert halls of the world, including the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center. She was a protégé of renowned cellist Aldo Parisot at Yale University, where she received her graduate and undergraduate degrees, and was mentored by Mstislav Rostropovich. Dr. Megiddo is a founding member of the Wellington, New Zealand-based Te Kōki Trio, and has held the position of principal cellist of the West Eastern Divan Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim. 

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

Cassatt String Quartet releases "Toward Light" October 17

Cassatt String Quartet's new recording "Toward Light" to be released on October 17 on New Focus Recordings

Three quintets by longtime collaborator Daniel Strong Godfrey feature Cassatts with pianist Ursula Oppens, guitarist Eliot Fisk, and cellist Nicole Johnson

New release comes on the heels of the quartet's 40th anniversary celebrations, adding to their extensive discography of over 30 albums

The Cassatt String Quartet continues its 40th anniversary year with the release of "Toward Light," (rel. October 17, 2025 on New Focus Records). Three quintets by Daniel Strong Godfrey reflect on the long association between composer and the Cassatts, with guest performers Ursula Oppens (piano), Eliot Fisk (guitar), and Nicole Johnson (cello).

"It's been a delight to work with the Cassatt String Quartet over nearly four decades. Their supreme ability and versatility bring out the best in my compositions. It's a pleasure to have these works recorded, two of which were commissioned by the quartet," says Godfrey. Cassatt violinist Muneko Otani says "We have been so fortunate to have Daniel as our friend and artistic partner since our early days an ensemble. He really understands us, and the works on this album reflect that."

Godfrey has earned awards and commissions from the J. S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Fromm Music Foundation, and many others. He's also the founder and co-director of the Seal Bay Festival of American Chamber Music on the coast of Maine, where the Cassatt String Quartet is a long-time ensemble in residence.

The two pieces commissioned by the Cassatts were written nearly 20 years apart. Ricordanza-Speranza was written for the quartet's 20th anniversary in 2006, and reflects an intense period of looking back ("ricordanza") and also looking ahead to the future with hope ("speranza"). Toward Light was written in 2023, and similarly shares the sense of looking toward the future with fear, exasperation, and tenuous optimism. The final work on the album, To Mourn, To Dance (2013) was written to feature Vermeer Quartet cellist Marc Johnson and his daughter Nicole, who is also a cellist. Father and daughter performed together at the premiere, but Mr. Johnson passed away soon thereafter. Nicole Johnson is featured on this recording, which is dedicated to her father’s memory.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording

Key Pianists to present Alexander Kobrin at Carnegie

Key Pianists Concert Series marks 10 years of presenting top recitalists at Carnegie Hall

2025-26 season begins with Cliburn Gold Medal winner Alexander Kobrin

November 6 concert features Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana and music by Haydn and Schubert

Presented by Key Pianists Concert Series

Since 2015, the Key Pianists Concert Series has brought some of the world’s most renowned recitalists to the stage at Carnegie Hall. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the series launches its season with Alexander Kobrin on November 6. Kobrin, who won the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn Competition in 2005, performs music by Haydn, Schubert and Robert Schumann. 

“I am thrilled to present Alexander Kobrin,” said Key Pianists founder Terry Eder. “He's emblematic of the gold standard of our concert series.” 

Since winning the gold medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Kobrin's star has been on a meteoric rise. He's performed with orchestras from the New York Philharmonic to the Russian National Orchestra, played recitals around the world and recorded over a half dozen critically acclaimed albums. His program features Robert Schumann's evocative Kreisleriana, the Four Impromptus op. 90 by Franz Schubert, Variations in F minor by Haydn and the beloved Arabesque by Schumann.

The concert on Thursday, November 6, 2025 at 7:30 pm is presented by Key Pianists Concert Series, at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th Street in New York City). Tickets are $51 ($40 + $11 fee) and are available at CarnegieHall.org | 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh Avenue.

Key Pianists Concert Series 10th season continues on February 12, 2026 with a recital by Terry Eder. Tickets available beginning in November.

Out Oct 3: composer Victoria Bond's "Dancing on Glass"

"Dancing on Glass" a new album of chamber music by Victoria Bond to be released October 3 on Albany Records

Album includes performances by acclaimed string players Pauline Kim Harris, Chieh-Fan Yiu, and Coleman Itzkoff and works for two pianos played by Madeline Rogers and Florencia Zuloaga

Title track is released as digital single on September 19

From Ella Fitzgerald's scat singing to mathematics and Chinese folk music, composer Victoria Bond can take inspiration from just about anything. These disparate sources and more are incorporated into the three works on her forthcoming album of chamber music "Dancing on Glass," released October 3, 2025 on Albany Records (TROY2007).

Acclaimed string players Pauline Kim Harris (violin), Chieh-Fan Yiu (viola), and Coleman Itzkoff (cello), are featured on the title track, which will be released digitally on September 19. Dancing on Glass is based on a Chinese folk song, Liu Yang River, and the title comes from the dancing reflection of light on the waterfront.

The album also features a couple works for two pianos performed by Madeline Rogers and Florencia Zuloaga. Binary is Bond's exploration on how 0 and 1 could be applied to music. "In mathematics and computer science the binary numeral system has had profound implications on our society," says the composer. "As early as 1703, the mathematician Gottfried Leibniz believed that binary numbers represented the mystical 'creatio ex nihilo' or creation out of nothing." Throughout the two movement work, Bond plays with this idea in rhythm, melody, and texture. The other work performed by Rogers and Zuloaga, Black Light, was originally written as a piano concerto, premiered by long-time Bond collaborator Paul Barnes. This is the world premiere recording of the version for two pianos. The second movement takes inspiration from Jewish liturgical music and the finale is inspired by the scat singing of Ella Fitzgerald.  

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

Out now: Rediscovered music by Christoph Graupner

Musicians of the Old Post Road release "Into the Light" on September 26

Album features world premiere recordings of rediscovered chamber music by Christoph Graupner on historical instruments

Plus music by Georg Telemann, Johann Fasch, and Ernest Louis

The Boston-based chamber ensemble Musicians of the Old Post Road specialize in the period instrument performance of dynamic and diverse music from the Baroque to early Romantic eras. On Friday, September 26, 2025, they release an album of recently rediscovered music by German composer Christoph Graupner (1683-1760). The album includes world premiere recordings as well as selections by Graupner's close associates Johann Friedrich Fasch, Georg Philipp Telemann, and Graupner's patron Count Ernest Louis. "Into the Light: Rediscovered Chamber Music of Christoph Graupner and others" is released on OPR Recordings (OPR001). The recording is the winner of the Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society.

Graupner spent the majority of his long career as Kapellmeister at the Darmstadt court where he wrote over 2,000 compositions. He was also a friend of Telemann, and shared a deep admiration for his music. Due to his strong reputation as a composer, many aspiring students came to Darmstadt to study with Graupner, including Johann Friedrich Fasch.

"Despite earning the respect of his German contemporaries Bach, Telemann, and Handel, Graupner's music was unfortunately largely forgotten after his death. He has just started to have a revival in the past two decades" said Musicians of the Old Post Road Co-Artistic Director and cellist Daniel Ryan. "As a chamber ensemble whose mission it is to program rediscovered and forgotten works, it was a delight to dive into Graupner's rich oeuvre and bring these rediscovered works to music lovers everywhere," added OPR Co-Artistic Director and flutist Suzanne Stumpf.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

Music by Franchomme, Chopin and more

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Cellist Louise Dubin's new recording Passages released September 5, 2025 on Bridge Records

Featuring world premiere recordings of works by Auguste Franchomme and music by Debussy, Chopin, Fauré and more

Passages is a collection of French cello music spanning three centuries

With cellist Julia Bruskin and pianist Spencer Meyer

The cellist Louise Dubin is a renowned performer and researcher of cellist-composer Auguste Franchomme (1808-1884). Her new album Passages features world premiere recordings of works by Chopin and Franchomme alongside compositions by Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré, Francis Poulenc, Charles Koechlin and Philippe Hersant. Dubin is joined by cellist Julia Bruskin and pianist Spencer Meyer on the album, which is released September 5, 2025 on Bridge Records (BRIDGE 9597).

Passages follows the release of Dubin's critically-acclaimed recording The Franchomme Project (Delos, 2015), which Strings Magazine called a “rare musical treat that unfolds with radiant energy,” and her publication Selected Works for Cello and Piano by Auguste Franchomme (Dover Publications, 2017).

Passages features the world premiere recordings of Franchomme's Nocturne, Op. 14/2 and Air Irlandais, Variè, Op. 25/3. The album also includes a Franchomme’s arrangement of Chopin's Étude, Op. 25/7 and a recently-discovered cello duo by Gabriel Fauré and Caprices for Two Cellos by Philippe Hersant (b. 1948), both performed with Julia Bruskin. The pianist Spencer Myer joins Dubin for sonatas by Claude Debussy and Charles Koechlin (Francis Poulenc's mentor) and the Sérénade by Poulenc.

The recording is produced by Steven Epstein and engineered by Epstein and Judith Sherman, both multiple Grammy-award winners.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

Village Trip 2025 Classical Programs (complete festival detail)

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The Village Trip festival celebrates culture and history in NYC’s iconic Greenwich Village

September 19-28, 2025 the annual festival includes 10 concerts performed by established classical and contemporary musicians and rising stars (full details below)

September 12-14: Pre-festival events

Classical music highlights include world premieres by David Amram, Samuel Adler, and Kyle Miller with performances by ETHEL, Bergamot Quartet, guitarist/composer William Kentner Anderson, Damien Sneed and more

The Village Trip, a massive celebration of culture and art in Greenwich Village, presents its annual festival September 19-28, 2025. Highlights of the classical and contemporary musical offerings include the world premiere of a song cycle by the world-renowned musician David Amram performed by baritone James Martin and the pianist Lynn Raley; the string quartet ETHEL with composer and electric guitarist Kyle Miller premiering two of Miller’s works; a program of music set to words by Greenwich Village poet Djuna Barnes and her circle including ee cumming and James Joyce; a tribute to President Jimmy Carter and his Habitat for Humanity project in the East Village with Damien Sneed and Chorale Le Chateau, and much more. Concert details are below. 

The Village Trip celebrates the culture, community, and rich artistic history of Greenwich Village. It was founded in 2018 with David Amram as Artist-in-Residence and Suzanne Vega headlining a free concert in Washington Square Park. The annual festival features a wide variety of events for locals and visitors alike. 

In addition to classical performances, The Village Trip’s 2025 season features a lecture delivered by New York Times journalist and author Clay Risen; the Freedomland! Art show; guided walking tours; and a cross-genre concert at City Winery called “Bernstein Remix!” curated by Leonard Bernstein’s daughter Jamie.

Details and updates at TheVillageTrip.com and below. 

The Village Trip 2025 Classical Programs

The Village Trip Pre-Festival events at Loft393

Featuring a display of work by Village artists Diana Wege, Joelle Shefts, Klay Enos, C Damon Carter, Meyer Kupferman, Corey Hardeman, and Agustin Castilla-Avila

All pre-festival events are at Loft393 (393 Broadway, 2nd Fl, Tribeca)

Admission is $20

September 12, 7 pm: Stefan Wolpe, Leo Brouwer & Morton Feldman

Performers: Guitarists Daniel Conant and Angel Blanco; The Village Trip Guitar Orchestra

Music by Stefan Wolpe, Morton Feldman, and Leo Brouwer.

September 13, 7 pm: The Darkness is God
Loft393 (393 Broadway, 2nd Fl, Tribeca)

Performers: Bowers/Fader Duo, Olson/De Cari Duo, The Village Trip Guitar Orchestra and guitarist Oren Fader

Music by Stefan Wolpe, Morton Feldman, Leo Brouwer, Bela Bartok, and world premieres by Thomas Flippin and Robert Morris.

September 14, 7 pm: Shift and Riff
Loft393 (393 Broadway, 2nd Fl, Tribeca)

Performers: The Curtis Guitar Quartet; soloists Muxin Li, guitar; William Anderson, mandolin; Joan Forsyth; The Village Trip Guitar Orchestra

Music by Eric Sessler, Mario Davidovsky, Michael Starobin, Stefan Wolpe, plus the premiere of Gary Philo's Prelude and Caprice for mandolin and piano.

*Opening night concert*

September 19, 7 pm: Village Voices:  Baritone James Martin and pianist Lynn Raley
St. John’s in the Village (218 W 11th St, Greenwich Village)

Performers: baritone James Martin and pianist Lynn Raley, whom the New York Times praised for their "powerful performances," with cellist Michael Cameron, pianist Maria Thompson Corley, and more

“Village Voices” tells powerful stories of our everyday lives. Baritone James Martin with instrumentalists Lynn Raley, William Kentner Anderson and Michael Cameron perform songs by Village artists, including premieres by Maria Thompson Corley, Carman Moore, and the legendary David Amram.

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 20, 2 pm: Classical Cool! Kids Concert hosted by Nina Bernstein Simmons
St. John’s in the Village (218 W 11th St, Greenwich Village)

Classical Cool! celebrates the legacy of Leonard Bernstein and the 150th Anniversary of the Music Teachers National Association in this nod to the legendary conductor’s “Young Peoples Concerts.” Bernstein's daughter Nina will narrate a children’s favorite, Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals” with the Going the Distance Players conducted by Victoria Bond and a roster of MTNA’s leading pianists.

Part of The Village Trip’s Leonard Bernstein Weekend.

Cost: $25 ($20 students/seniors) | $35 family ticket for four (max two adults)

September 21, 3 pm: Looking East
Balinese Gamelan Yowana Sari & Friends
Portico outside St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (2nd Ave and E 10 St)

The Balinese gamelan ensemble Gamelan Yowana Sari performs with guitarists Kyle Miller and Jack Lynch.

Music by Michael Gordon, Evan Ziporyn, Kyle Miller, Vivian Fung and I Gusde Widnyana.

Cost: Free

September 21, 4:30 pm: Habitat East Village with Damien Sneed and Friends
A Tribute to President Jimmy Carter

St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (2nd Ave and E 10 St)

Award-winning multi-genre musician Damien Sneed leads his Chorale Le Chateau and jazz ensemble in this homage to President Jimmy Carter and his work for Habitat for Humanity in the East Village. Carter's White House welcomed musicians of every ilk and genre, folk, gospel and jazz, were welcomed. It was truly "the people's house.'

Program includes music by Bach, Leonard Bernstein, Dizzy Gillespie, and gospel favorites including Amazing Grace, performed by Damien Sneed leading Chorale Le Chateau and a jazz ensemble; David Fulmer, violin; Joan Forsyth, piano; Sharon Harms, soprano; and others. 

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 24, 7 pm: Poets of Patchin Place
New music set to texts by Greenwich Village poets and friends

Co-presented by Cutting Edge Concerts in cooperation with The Coffee House Club at the Salmagundi Club
Salmagundi Club (47 5th Ave, New York, NY)

A program of songs celebrating the acclaimed poet, and Greenwich Village resident Djuna Barnes and her circle of friends ee cummings and James Joyce. With settings of James Baldwin commissioned for the Baldwin Centenary.

Music by William Kentner Anderson, Victoria Bond, Laura Schwendinger, and Nehemiah Luckett performed by baritones Michael Kelly and Nehemiah Luckett, sopranos Zoe Allen and Sharon Harms, and pianists John Arida, Joan Forsyth, and Christopher Allen.

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 26, 7 pm: Poetica Musica "Inspired by the Village"
St. John’s in the Village (218 W 11th St, Greenwich Village)

The New York-based chamber music group Poetica Musica performs works inspired by Greenwich Village culture.

Performers include Oren Fader and William Kentner Anderson, guitars; Barry Crawford, flute; Molly Morkoski, piano; and Eleanor Valkenburg, soprano.

Music by Ives, Bartok, Piazzolla, Gershwin and Anderson.

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 26 and 27, 7:15 pm: ETHEL at the Met Mezzanine
Mezzanine Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 5th Ave, New York, NY)

The string quartet ETHEL with guitarist Kyle Miller give a preview performance of Miller’s newly commissioned works for electric guitar and string quartet. Program also includes music by Philip Glass, Marcelo Zarvos, Ennio Morricone and members of ETHEL.

Cost: Free with Met Museum admission

September 27, 7:30 pm: Bergamot Quartet
St. John’s in the Village (218 W 11th St, Greenwich Village)

Bergamot Quartet performs world premieres by Samuel Adler, Louis Karchin, and Eli Greenhoe. The virtuosic yangqin player Cheng Jin Koh joins the quartet for a performance of her work Mountain of Echoing Halls.

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 28, 3 pm: ETHEL with electric guitarist Kyle Miller
St. John’s in the Village (218 W 11th St, Greenwich Village)

Acclaimed guitarist-composer Kyle Miller joins celebrated string quartet ETHEL for a program featuring two world premieres by Miller and works by Philip Glass, Marcelo Zarvos, Phil Kline, Fred Hersch, David Lang, plus Tin Pan Alley favorites.

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 28, 5 pm: Composers Concordance: Ciabatta Cantata
St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (2nd Ave and E 10 St)

Composers Concordance and friends explore themes of food and politics in new music for chorus, guitar and theorbo. The program includes music by Gene Pritsker, Dan Cooper, and William Anderson. Enjoy fresh ciabatta from the Grandaisy Bakery during the performance.

Cost: $20 ($30 at the door)

New! Songs by Poulenc transcribed for violin and piano

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Francis Poulenc's vocal music transcribed for violin and piano

New recording features transcriptions and performances by violinist Hongyi Mo

"Métamorphoses" includes ten of Poulenc's songs plus the sonatas for violin and oboe

Released August 15, 2025 on Azica Records

The text of Francis Poulenc's songs imbues intense emotions into his music. This fact inspired the award-winning violinist Hongyi Mo to transcribe ten of Poulenc's songs for violin and piano. These transcriptions, along with Poulenc's oboe and violin sonatas are captured on a new recording performed by Mo with pianist John Etsell. "Métamorphoses" is released August 15, 2025 on Azica Records.

"The core intent of this album is to lead listeners into an overlooked but profoundly important aspect of classical instrumental music: its inherent literary quality. In Poulenc’s art songs, the poetry deeply influences the performer’s approach to melody, harmony, and imagery in ways that are both profound and unique," writes Hongyi in the album notes. "It is the pursuit of the unattainable, the possibilities of fleeting moments that come tantalizingly close to perfection, that draws me irresistibly to Poulenc’s art songs."

Mo explains how he chose the title for the album, "Métamorphoses," which is also the name of one of the song cycles on the recording. “Although it’s not uncommon for instrumentalists to perform vocal art songs, a large-scale interpretation carries a deeper meaning. It’s not simply about showcasing melodic beauty; rather, it’s a serious and focused exploration of the literary qualities inherent in instrumental music, particularly those inspired by the rich expressiveness of poetry. This, in essence, is a kind of metamorphosis, or transformation.” 

Since 2008, Hongyi has been an esteemed member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where he regularly serves as guest principal second violin. His versatility as a musician has also led to collaborations with artists from diverse genres, including Andrea Bocelli and Eminem.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

A new look at Bach’s Cello Suites

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Bach: The Cello Suites out September 2025 from Cambridge University Press

Book by award-winning author Edward Klorman gives a 360º view of Bach’s iconic cello music, tracing its unlikely path from obscurity in North Germany to their outsized role in today's pop culture

“An excellent book! Full of interesting information, concisely and readably presented. A fine guide to the six miracles known as the Bach Cello Suites.” – Steven Isserlis, cellist and author

J.S. Bach's Cello Suites have a global resonance, influencing culture from Benjamin Britten's Cello Suites to J-pop, and from K-drama to Ingmar Bergman's films. Bach: The Cello Suites by the award-winning author Edward Klorman will be published September 2025 by Cambridge University Press. Klorman provides a kaleidoscopic view of the works in the forthcoming book, from historical analysis to the popularization of performances in myriad settings and the music’s influence on pop culture today.

Originally dismissed as curiosities, the Cello Suites are now viewed as the pinnacle of composition for unaccompanied cello. This handbook examines how and why Bach composed these highly innovative works. Klorman looks at the manuscript copies of Bach’s lost original and gives insight into how the Suites might be performed. He also explores how the works initially received mixed reception from critics and audiences as they entered the concert hall in the middle of the 19th century until Pablo Casals eventually popularized them, setting the paradigm for generations to follow.

Originally dismissed as curiosities, the Cello Suites are now viewed as the pinnacle of composition for unaccompanied cello. This handbook examines how and why Bach composed these highly innovative works. Klorman looks at the manuscript copies of Bach’s lost original and gives insight into how the Suites might be performed. He also explores how the works initially received mixed reception from critics and audiences as they entered the concert hall in the middle of the 19th century until Pablo Casals eventually popularized them, setting the paradigm for generations to follow.

Cassatt String Quartet premieres Joan Tower’s String Quartet

Cassatt String Quartet celebrates its 40th anniversary by commissioning a new work by Joan Tower

Tower composed her String Quartet No. 7 in honor of her long history with the Cassatts

Premiere is September 14, 2025 at Maverick Concerts in Woodstock NY

On September 14, 2025, the Cassatt String Quartet will give the world premiere performance of Joan Tower’s String Quartet No. 7. The performance will be at Maverick Concerts (120 Maverick Road, Woodstock, NY) and the composer will be in attendance.

“We’ve played all of Joan’s music for string quartet over the years,” said CSQ violinist Muneko Otani. “About a year and a half ago, I approached her to ask if she would write a piece for us to commemorate our 40th anniversary.”

Towers’ husband of 50 years, Jeff Litfin, had passed away not long before that, and Otani got into the habit of spending the night at Tower’s home once a week for over a year. The two enjoyed many conversations about life and music over a glass of wine.

“We had approached Joan before, about ten years ago, but our timing wasn’t right, and she said no. We’re flattered that she’s agreed to this commission now, as we know that she generally is booked years ahead for new works,” added Otani.

Maverick Music Director Alexander Platt caught wind of the project and was immediately interested in programming the work. The funding for the commission came from Phyllis Feder, one of Joan’s friends. 

Performance Details

Joan Tower: String Quartet No. 7 world premiere

Commissioned and performed by the Cassatt String Quartet

September 14, 2025 at 4 pm
Maverick Concerts (120 Maverick Road, Woodstock, NY 12498)

Program
Joan Tower: String Quartet No. 7 (world premiere)
Joan Tower: Love Letter for piano (2022) (Joan Tower, piano)
Robert Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44 (with pianist Magdalena Baczewska)
W.A. Mozart: String Quartet No.16 in E-flat, K.428

Details and tickets

About the Cassatt String Quartet

Hailed for its “mighty rapport and relentless commitment” and for its active role in diversifying string quartet repertoire, the Cassatt String Quartet has performed throughout the world for four decades, with appearances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Tanglewood Music Center, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Centro National de las Artes (Mexico), Maeda Hall (Japan), and Beijing’s Central Conservatory.

The Cassatt String Quartet celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2025 with premieres by Joan Tower, Victoria Bond, Mari Kimura and Shirish Korde, all written for the group. The season includes concerts across the United States, residencies at major universities and conservatories, the CSQ's bi-annual Cassatt in the Basin residency in West Texas, and the Seal Bay Festival in Maine. The newest of the group’s 40+ recordings, music by Daniel S. Godfrey with guest artists Ursula Oppens and Eliot Fisk, will be released in October 2025.

The Cassatt String Quartet is violinists Muneko Otani and Jennifer Leshnower, violist Emily Brandenburg, and cellist Gwen Krosnick. The quartet is named for the celebrated American artist Mary Cassatt.

Cassatt String Quartet digital press kit   

About Joan Tower

Joan Tower is widely regarded as one of the most important American composers living today. During a career spanning more than sixty years, she has made lasting contributions to musical life in the United States as composer, performer, conductor, and educator. Her works have been commissioned by major ensembles, soloists, and orchestras, including the Emerson, Tokyo, and Muir quartets; soloists Alisa Weilerstein, Evelyn Glennie, Carol Wincenc, David Shifrin, Paul Neubauer, and John Browning; and the orchestras of Chicago, New York, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Nashville, Albany NY, and Washington DC among others.

Tower is the first composer chosen for a Ford Made in America consortium commission of sixty-five orchestras. Leonard Slatkin and the Nashville Symphony recorded Made in America on an album which received three Grammy awards. Nashville’s subsequent all-Tower recording received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.

In 1990 she became the first woman to win the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Silver Ladders, written for the St. Louis Symphony where she was Composer-in-Residence. Other residencies with orchestras include a 10-year residency with the Orchestra of St. Luke's (1997-2007) and the Pittsburgh Symphony (2010-11). Tower was co-founder and pianist for the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players from 1970-85. She has received honorary doctorates from Smith College, the New England Conservatory, and Illinois State University. She is Asher B. Edelman Professor in the Arts at Bard College, where she has taught since 1972.

Cleveland Chamber Music Society's 76th Season Announcement

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Cleveland Chamber Music Society announces 76th season, which begins September 16

Featured artists include James Ehnes, Jeremy Denk with Isidore String Quartet, baritone Quinn Kelsey, Takács Quartet and more

Critical acclaim for Season 75:

"Cleveland Chamber Music Society sure knows how to throw a party" - Seen and Heard International

"a pillar of classical music in Cleveland" - The Land

"one of the most respected chamber music series in the country" - Cleveland Classical

Hot on the heels of its tremendously acclaimed 75th anniversary season, Cleveland Chamber Music Society announces its programming for the 2025-2026 season. Featured artists include the Takács Quartet, pianist Jeremy Denk with the Isidore String Quartet, baritone Quinn Kelsey, and more.

The 75th Season ended triumphantly in April with the complete Shostakovich String Quartet cycle performed by the Jerusalem Quartet. Achieving a feat never before attempted in the region, the quartet performed the works in chronological order at the Cleveland Museum of Art over five nights. With masterclasses, pre-concert lectures, and a screening of Hamlet with a score by Shostakovich, the community came together to witness this historic cycle.

For the upcoming season, Cleveland Chamber Music Society presents five of the world's leading string quartets and recitals by violinist James Ehnes with pianist Orion Weiss, who open the season on September 16, and baritone Quinn Kelsey performing music by Vaughan Williams, Finzi, and Copland with pianist Craig Ketter (February 3).

In the fall, the Belcea Quartet performs Britten's Second String Quartet alongside music by Mozart and Webern (October 21) and the Takács Quartet performs quartets by Dvořák, Beethoven, and Haydn (November 11). In the spring, the Leonkoro Quartet performs music by Haydn, Schulhoff, and Webern (March 3); the Verona Quartet performs with Cleveland-based pianist Yaron Kohlberg (April 28); and the season finale features the Isidore String Quartet with pianist Jeremy Denk performing Brahms' Quintet in F minor alongside works by Ligeti and Haydn (May 19).

"As one of the most established concert presenters in Cleveland we're so proud to bring these world renowned artists from across the globe to our community. For three quarters of a century our audiences have enjoyed performances from the likes of pianist Jeremy Denk, the Takács Quartet, and baritone Quinn Kelsey" says CCMS board chair Fern Jennings. "I can't wait for this upcoming season."

Tickets are available now by phone at (216) 291-2777, and will soon be available online at ClevelandChamberMusic.org. Subscriptions from $120, single tickets are $40 for adults ($35 seniors, $5 students/anyone under 19 years old).

Full season details here.

Out Tuesday: "Orchestrating the Wild" performed by the LSO

London Symphony Orchestra performs music by Sarah Bassingthwaighte

New album released May 20 on Spanish label Aria Classics

"Orchestrating the Wild" pays tribute to the natural world in four diverse works

The natural world is front and center on a forthcoming album of music performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with conductors Jonathan Pasternack and Bobby Collins. Four works by the award-winning composer Sarah Bassingthwaighte pay homage to sparrows, the sea, a cave high atop a mountain, and a desolate cape. "Orchestrating the Wild" is released on May 20, 2025 on Aria Classics.

"I'm inspired by the sound and spirit of everything that is outdoors, says Bassingthwaighte, who is a critically acclaimed composer and flutist. "Over the course of 55 minutes, you’ll soar with sparrows, take in stunning views from a mountaintop, feel the air sizzle with insects, and feel the spray of the ocean as you crash against the rocks."

A centerpiece of the album is the Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra. It was written to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra and born out of the desire to add works for double bass and orchestra to the repertoire. Bassist Stephen Schermer, who is the soloist on this recording, also premiered the work. Bassingthwaighte says it's "more like a symphony with string bass as hero. It takes the listener through the depths of grief, irreverence, playfulness, and finally rejuvenation and purification through fire."

The album closer "A Mountain Symphony" pays homage to the breathtaking mountains of Washington state. It was composed in a cave at an elevation of 8000 feet with the sound of a glacier, the river rushing underneath, the winds in the valley, and all the forms of life. It's dedicated to Bassingthwaighte's mother, who was an eager supporter of the work while her daughter was composing it. She died shortly before the premiere of the work.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

Pianist Min Kwon's "America/Beautiful" at Symphony Space

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Pianist Min Kwon on May 28 at Symphony Space

Kwon performs new works from her "America/Beautiful" project by Jessica Meyer, Wang Jie, Victoria Bond and more, including 4 world premieres

Each piece is a variation on "America the Beautiful," commissioned by Kwon

Victoria Bond's Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival presents pianist Min Kwon on Wednesday, May 28 at 7:30 pm at Symphony Space (2537 Broadway at 95th St., New York, NY). Tickets are $30, available here.

The program features works commissioned by Kwon for her "America/Beautiful" project, in which she asked a diverse group of over seventy American composers to write a variation on "America the Beautiful." Kwon says, "My hope is to paint a sonic picture of my adopted country in all of its sprawling complexity, and ultimately try to find the beauty at the core of the American experiment and its credo of e pluribus unum (out of many, one)."

The May 28 program features sixteen short selections (including four world premieres) from the project including works by Victoria Bond, Vijay Iyer, Sebastian Currier, Jessica Meyer, Paul Moravec, and more. Complete program details are below.

Bond's variation From Sea to Shining Sea was premiered in 2021. Cleverly using the lyrics as well as the music for inspiration, Bond's variation begins with and ends on the note "C". She says her work is a mini-drama, taking the listener through a gamut of conflicting emotions. From Sea to Shining Sea begins on a hopeful note before taking a dark and sorrowful turn, followed by music that expresses anger and frustration. "The piece ends optimistically and triumphantly," says Bond. "I am intentionally not referring to specific events here; it is for the listener to draw his or her own interpretation of what this music means."

Inspired by Boulez's series, "Perspective Encounters", the composer and conductor Victoria Bond founded Cutting Edge Concerts in 1998. Along with performances by world-class ensembles and soloists, each program features on-stage discussions between host Victoria Bond and the composers.

Calendar Listing

Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 7:30 pm

Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival presents

Pianist Min Kwon: America/Beautiful

Symphony Space (2537 Broadway at 95th St., New York, NY)
Tickets are $30 available at SymphonySpace.org

Program

Selected works from America/Beautiful project

Performed by pianists Min Kwon, Reed Tetzlaff, Carl Bolleia, and Jiayan Sun

Jessica Meyer: Halcyon Skies
Charles Coleman: To be Beautiful
Qasim Naqvi: America The\
John Musto: Habanera
Sebastian Currier: 23 Variations on America
Melinda Wagner: Swinging in My Yard (an American reverie)
David Sanford: Three Places in America (less than a mile from each other)*
Leila Adu-Gilmore: United Underdog
Justin Dello Joio: Playing with Fire*
Vijay Iyer: Crown Thy Good
Robert Sirota: Two Variations: …alabaster cities… & …God mend thine every flaw…
Paul Moravec: America, the Work in Progress
Trevor Weston: A Fantasy on America
Scott Ordway: You Are Welcome Here*
Wang Jie: Under the Same Flag*
Victoria Bond: Sea to Shining Sea

* World Premiere

Armenian-American pianist performs all-Khachaturian at Carnegie

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Pianist Kariné Poghosyan performs all Khachaturian recital at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall

From the joyous "Masquarade" to his 1961 piano sonata the program showcases many facets of this Armenian composer

Award-winning pianist Kariné Poghosyan has been praised by Fanfare Magazine as "an exceptionally gifted artist who sports a larger-than-life technical apparatus." On Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 8:00 pm she returns to Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall to perform a recital of solo piano works by Aram Khachaturian. The concert is presented by The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations.

"Khachaturian is a composer whose music has defined my life and work. Our greatest concert hall in the capital city Yerevan is named after him. He appears on postage stamps and banknotes. And of course, his music is simply an inseparable part of the Armenian DNA," says Poghosyan.

Although she avoided Khachaturian's music until she was 18 because she felt it was "too close to home," Poghosyan quickly fell in love with his work. She wrote her thesis on him, recorded the solo piano works and ballet transcriptions on her first commercial recording (digital album available upon request), and has toured the country with her all-Khachaturian program. From the poetic and lyrical "Adagio" from the ballet Spartacus to the energetic Toccata, many different sides of the composer are represented in this program which concludes with his 1961 Piano Sonata. This work showcases the versatility of Khachaturian, featuring his boldest harmonies alongside minimalist patterns.

Recent recital appearances include those at Musikverein and Ehbar Saal in Vienna, Casa Armena in Milan, The Sheldon in St. Louis, Soraya Performing Arts Center in Northridge, California, and several sold-out recitals at Carnegie Hall. Her discography includes recordings on Naxos, Centaur, and Navona. During the pandemic, Ms. Poghosyan performed 100 consecutive free weekly virtual concerts, gathering a loyal world-wide following as well as press coverage from the Pianist Magazine, Katie Couric's newsletter The Wake-up Call, NY1’s Stephanie Simon, and ABC's Rick Rowe.

Kariné Poghosyan's recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th Street) is on June 10, 2025 at 8:00 pm. Tickets start at $45 ($35 + $10 fee), and are available at CarnegieHall.org | Carnegie Hall at 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh.

Classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang returns to Baruch PAC

Baruch Performing Arts Center ends 2024-25 season on a high note with classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang

May 19 program features music by Bach, Piazzolla, original compositions and more

On Monday, May 19 at 7 pm, classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang returns to Baruch Performing Arts Center's stage after her wildly popular performance last season. Her program, which closes out Baruch PAC's 2024-25 concert season, brings summer to the stage with two works by Vivaldi and Piazzolla inspired by that season. She also performs music by Bach and two of her original compositions. Full program details below.

A groundbreaking artist, Hanzhi was the first accordionist to win Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the first to be named Musical America’s “New Artist of the Month,” and the first solo accordionist on WQXR Radio’s Young Artists Showcase. She has performed in the U.S. from coast to coast including UC Santa Barbara’s Lively Arts and The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City. Composers Martin Lohse, James Black, and Sophia Gubaidulina have written and dedicated works to her. Her awards include the Ruth Laredo Prize, and a career development award from YCA, and first price in the 40th Castelfiadardo International Accordion Compeition in Italy.

Tickets to the May 19 recital are $40, available online here. The entrance to Baruch PAC (55 Lexington Ave. New York, NY) is on 25th street between Third and Lexington avenues.

Monday, May 19, 2025 at 7 pm

Baruch Performing Arts Center presents:

Accordionist Hanzhi Wang

Engelman Recital Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Ave., New York, NY (enter on 25th St. between 3rd and Lexington Aves)

Tickets are $40 available here

PROGRAM

J.S. Bach: Chorale Prelude BWV 639
J.S. Bach: Sheep May Safely Graze BWV 208 J.S. Bach: Chorale from the Cantata BWV 147
Hanzhi Wang: Sunrise Chanting
Hanzhi Wang: Mountain's Song
Saad Haddad: Shifting Sands
Martin Lohse: Menuetto
Martin Lohse: Autumn Rain
Astor Piazzolla: Verano Porteno/Summer
Antonio Vivaldi: Summer (Mvt. 1)

Baruch PAC presents jazz trumpeter/vocalist Jumaane Smith

Baruch Performing Arts Center presents acclaimed trumpeter/vocalist Jumaane Smith, long-time band member and featured soloist of Michael Bublé, on May 16

Concert marks return of Baruch PAC's Milt Hinton Concert Series

Baruch's season concludes on May 19 with classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang

Baruch Performing Arts Center is in the final stretch of its wide-ranging 2024-25 concert season. On May 16, 2025 at 7:30 pm, jazz trumpeter, vocalist, and composer Jumaane Smith brings his quartet to the hall David Letterman once called "delightful." Baruch PAC's concert season concludes just a few days later with classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang on May 19.

Smith has performed on 5 GRAMMY-winning records (selling more than 60 million copies), 2 Emmy-nominated TV performances, the GRAMMY Awards with Stevie Wonder, in Steven Spielberg’s "West Side Story," and more. For the last 18 years, he's toured with Michael Bublé as lead trumpeter and featured vocalist. He's also brought his own band to Jazz At Lincoln Center, Birdland Jazz Club, and many other world-renowned venues

He has worked with musical legends such as Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Christian McBride, Barbra Streisand, Alicia Keys, Jon Batiste, Kamasi Washington, and Theo Croker. As a full scholarship recipient at the Juilliard School of Music’s Jazz Studies program, Wynton Marsalis was Smith’s primary trumpet teacher. 

This concert marks the return of Baruch PAC's Milt Hinton Memorial Concerts since the pandemic, recognizing the legacy of renowned jazz bassist and longtime Baruch faculty member Milt Hinton. Tickets are $40 general admission, available here.

Winds and Harp: Ravel and His World

Sylvan Winds celebrates Ravel's 150th birthday at historic Eglise St. Jean Baptiste in NYC

"Winds and Harp: Ravel and his World" program on April 29 with guest harpist Kristi Shade features music by Ravel, Faure, Debussy, and more

Final concert of wind quintet's 2024-25 season

On April 29, 2025 at 7:30 pm the Sylvan Winds, hailed by the New York Times for their "adventuresome programming and stylishness of performance," celebrate the 150th birthday of Maurice Ravel with a concert featuring guest harpist Kristi Shade at Eglise St. Jean Baptiste (184 East 76th Street). A ticketed reception follows the concert. Program and ticket details are here.

"Winds and Harp: Ravel and His World" is the finale of the quintet's 2024-25 season. The program is book-ended by Ravel's Menuet Antique and Le Tombeau de Couperin, and features music by his contemporaries Gabriel Faure, Claude Debussy, Henry Tomasi, and Jean Françaix plus a work by François Couperin. The program takes place at Eglise St. Jean Baptiste, which is considered to be one of the country's most beautiful churches and is included in the National Registry of Historic Buildings.

Over 45 years ago, artistic director Svjetlana Kabalin joined forces with her colleagues to form what has become one of the most long-lived wind quintets in the country. The Sylvan Winds have performed under the auspices of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, Caramoor International Music Festival, and venues across the globe. They have recorded for Koch Classics, CRI/New World, North/South, and Albany record labels, enjoyed collaborations with such distinguished artists as Gerard Schwarz, Ransom Wilson and the Guarneri String Quartet, and commissioned dozens of works.

The Sylvan Winds perform in important historic and cultural New York City buildings. Each of the group's imaginative and informative programs reflects the environs of each unique performance space.

Harpist Kristi Shade is one of the preeminent emerging harpists in the industry. She is the Principal Harpist with The Chamber Orchestra of New York, and a member of the flute-viola-harp trio, Hat Trick, and the harp duo, Duo Scorpio. She is a frequent performer with The Knights, On Site Opera, Talea Ensemble and American Modern Ensemble.

Calendar Listing

Tuesday, April 29 at 7:30 pm

Sylvan Winds with harpist Kristi Shade
Winds and Harp: Ravel and His World

Eglise St. Jean Baptiste
184 East 76th Street (at Lexington Avenue), New York, NY

Tickets: $30 general ($40 priority; $25 seniors/students)
Concert plus reception tickets: $85-$250 available at SylvanWinds.com

Program

Maurice Ravel: Menuet Antique
Gabriel Faure: Après un Rêve
Claude Debussy: Petite Pièce
Henry Tomasi: Cinq Danses Profane et Sacré
Jean Françaix: Quatuor pour Flûte, Hautbois, Clarinette et Basson
François Couperin: Concert Royal No. 4
Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin

Sylvan Winds
Amir Farsi, flute; Kathy Halvorson, oboe; Nuno Antunes, clarinet; Gina Cuffari, bassoon; Zohar Schondorf, horn; Special Guest Kristi Shade, harp

Program subject to change

Fiddler Mark O'Connor with Vega String Quartet at Carnegie

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April 25: Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta presents "Beethoven & Bluegrass" at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall

Featuring Vega Quartet with Grammy award-winning fiddlers Mark and Maggie O'Connor

Award-winning string quartet joins renowned fiddlers for an evening of Beethoven, bluegrass duos, and original music by Mark O'Connor

On April 25, 7:30 pm, at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Mark and Maggie O'Connor join the Vega Quartet for "Beethoven & Bluegrass." The concert is presented by Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta.

The genre-blending program features the Vega Quartet (Emory University's String Quartet-in-Residence) performing Beethoven's String Quartet No. 11, Op. 95 and Mark O'Connor's String Quartet No. 2 "Bluegrass."

About his quartet, O'Connor says: "From the bouncy bluegrass vocal-like melodies, to the blistering fast hot licks, to the rhythmic bow “chopping” to the gospel yearnings of the slow movement, I wanted to comprehensively dive down deep into the strains of this music. I wanted to further discover what this American musical art form means to string playing."

Mark and Maggie O'Connor take the stage to play bluegrass duos for the second half of the concert, which concludes with all six musicians performing Mark's famous "Appalachia Waltz." That work's recording with O'Connor, Yo Yo Ma, and bassist Edgar Meyer sold over one million copies.

"Beethoven & Bluegrass" with Mark and Maggie O'Connor and the Vega Quartet takes place at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th Street) on Friday, April 25, 2025 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $50, available at CarnegieHall.org | CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh. The concert is presented by Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta with generous support from Sheila and Jon Davies and Dr. John and Linda Cooke.

Friday, April 25, 2025 at 7:30 pm

Beethoven & Bluegrass
with Mark and Maggie O'Connor and the Vega Quartet

presented by Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta

Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall
154 West 57th Street, New York, NY

Tickets are $60 ($50 + $10 fee) and are available at CarnegieHall.org | CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh

Mark O’Connor, Violin, Guitar and Mandolin
Maggie O’Connor, Violin and Vocals
The Vega Quartet (Emily Daggett Smith, Violin; Jessica Shuang Wu, Violin; Joseph Skerik, Viola; Guang Wang, Cello)

PROGRAM

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95
Mark O'Connor: String Quartet No. 2 "Bluegrass"
The Vega Quartet

Various/Trad.: Bluegrass Selections (to be announced from stage)
Mark and Maggie O'Connor

Mark O'Connor: Appalachia Waltz
Mark and Maggie O'Connor; The Vega Quartet

Pianist Orli Shaham: on tour with Gil, Mozart in Ohio, and more

Pianist Orli Shaham on tour with her brother Gil Shaham

Mozart concerto with Columbus Symphony

East Coast recitals with violinist Deborah Buck, chamber music with Pacific Symphony, and more

A week with Gil Shaham

In April, Orli Shaham goes on tour with her brother Gil Shaham. Both musicians have incredibly busy careers of their own, and these concerts are a rare occurrence to see the two in recital together. The repertoire is part of Orli's ongoing project "The Clara Effect," which celebrates the lasting impact of Clara Schumann as a composer, performer, and influencer. This program features music by Clara alongside her husband Robert Schumann and their close friends Johannes Brahms and Amanda Meier. 

Concerts are April 3 in Madison, WI (University of Wisconsin), April 5 in Aliso Viejo, CA (SOKA Performing Arts Center), and April 6 in La Jolla, CA (La Jolla Chamber Music Society). Also, the Shahams will tape a special "siblings" episode of NPR's From the Top, (for which Orli is Co-Host and Creative) which will be broadcast nationwide this spring.

Orli Shaham joins the violinist Deborah Buck, who has been praised by The Strad as having a “surpassing degree of imagination and vibrant sound,” for recitals on the east coast.

On April 13, an 11 am Sunday morning performance on the Gather NYC series is another "Clara Effect" program, with works by Clara Schumann, Beethoven, Amanda Meier and William Grant Still. On April 27 at 2 pm, Shaham and Buck head to Connecticut for a performance of music by Beethoven, Dvorak and Franck at the Westport Library presented by Orchestra Lumos. May 11 at 2 pm and 4 pm brings a special free Mother's Day program to Bargemusic at its new location: Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse, 10 Montague Street in Brooklyn, NY. On the program, music by Dvořák, Clara Schumann, Beethoven, William Grant Still, and Gerardo Matos Rodríguez.

Mozart with Columbus Symphony

This weekend, March 14 and 15, Orli Shaham heads to Ohio for a performance with the Colmbus Symphony. The all-Mozart program features Shaham performing the composer's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 with conductor Rossen Milanov. As she continues to celebrate Clara Schumann and her legacy, Shaham performs the Mozart with Schumann's own cadenza, as she did with a recent performance of the work with the Princeton Symphony.

A limited edition box set of Orli Shaham's complete Mozart piano sonatas is available on Canary Classics.

Cafe Ludwig

On May 4, Shaham returns to Pacific Symphony to close out her 17th season as curator, host, and pianist of the Cafe Ludwig chamber music series. The program features Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, Debussy's Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, and Reena Esmail's The Light is The Same, a beautiful exploration of cross-cultural dialogue that The Washington Post described as “the musical equivalent of translucent silk, rustling in a gentle breeze.”

This winter, Shaham was in the studio with musicians from Pacific Symphony to record a series of world premieres by American composers, including this work by Reena Esmail, that will be featured on an album released by the symphony later this year. Stay tuned for details!

For your Listening Pleasure

Orli Shaham was a featured guest on violinist Noa Kageyama's podcast "Bulletproof Musician." The conversation covered a range of topics, especially relevant for student musicians, including overcoming setbacks, learning to trust the process, the real benefit of recording yourself, and cultivating confidence. Watch the hour-long conversation in full here, or stream wherever you get your podcasts.

Van Cliburn gold medalist Yekwon Sunwoo in recital

Van Cliburn Gold Medal Winner Yekwon Sunwoo performs at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall

May 2 recital includes music by Clara and Robert Schumann, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff

Presented by Korea Mecenat Association and Korea Music Foundation

On May 2 at 7:30 pm, the pianist Yekwon Sunwoo performs at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. The program includes Rachmaninoff's "Moments Musicaux," a Chopin Barcarolle, Robert Schumann's Fantasy in C Major, and Clara Schumann's "Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann."

Yekwon Sunwoo is the first Korean gold medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, which he won in 2017. Since then, he has gone on to perform with major symphony orchestras in Europe, Asia and the United States, and performed in recital at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Elphilharmonie, among others. He is an avid chamber musician, collaborating with Gary Hoffman, Anne-Marie McDermott and the Jerusalem and Brentano Quartets. His discography includes recordings on Decca Universal Music Korea and Decca Gold.

The concert on Friday, May 2, 2025 at 7:30 pm is presented by the Korea Mecenat Association and Korea Music Foundation, at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th Street in New York City). Tickets start at $70 ($60 + $10 fee) and are available at CarnegieHall.org, CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh.

Calendar Listing

Friday, May 2, 2025 at 7:30 pm

Pianist Yekwon Sunwoo
presented by Korea Mecenat Association and Korea Music Foundation

Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall
154 West 57th Street
New York, NY

Tickets start at $70 ($60 + $10 fee) and are available at CarnegieHall.org | CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh

PROGRAM
Robert Schumann: Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17
Frédéric Chopin: Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60
Clara Schumann: Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Moments Musicaux

Yekwon Sunwoo Biography

Yekwon Sunwoo has been hailed for his “unfailingly consistent excellence” (International Piano) and celebrated as "a pianist who commands a comprehensive technical arsenal that allows him to thunder without breaking a sweat" (Chicago Tribune). A powerful and virtuosic performer, he also, in his own words, "strives to reach for the truth and pure beauty in music.”

The first Korean Gold medallist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Yekwon's 24/25 season includes appearances with Ann Arbor Symphony, New York Classical Players, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Armenian Symphony as well as recitals at the University of Michigan, Bechstein Hall and Carnegie Hall.

Recent highlights include concertos with the Macao, Kalamazoo & Victoria Symphonies, Slovak Philharmonic, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris as well as a US tour with the Esme String Quartet.

In previous seasons, he has performed as a soloist with the Munich Philharmonic and Valery Gergiev, Royal Danish Orchestra with Thomas Søndergard, Fort Worth and Tucson Symphonies, Washington Chamber Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, National Orchestra of Belgium, Sendai Philharmonic and Royal Scottish National Orchestra amongst others. Recital appearances include Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Salle Cortot, Hong Kong Arts Festival, and a tour of Japan.

An avid chamber musician, Yekwon's collaborators include Clara Jumi Kang, Sebastian Bohren, Benjamin Beilman, Linus Roth, Andrei lonita, Sebastian Bohren, lsang Enders, Tobias Feldmann, Gary Hoffman, Anne-Marie McDermott and the Jerusalem and Brentano Quartets. He has also toured Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama with the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation and performed at Chamber Music of Lincoln Center's Inside Chamber Music Lectures.

In addition to the Cliburn Gold Medal, Yekwon won first prizes at the 2015 International German Piano Award, the 2014 Vendome Prize held at the Verbier Festival, the 2013 Sendai International Music Competition and the 2012 William Kapell International Piano Competition.

Born in Anyang, South Korea, Yekwon began learning the piano at the age of 8 and made his recital and orchestral debuts in Seoul at 15. His teachers include Seymour Lipkin, Robert McDonald, Richard Goode and Bernd Goetzke.

In September 2023, Yekwon released his second album for Decca Universal Music Korea featuring works by Rachmaninov following his first album in 2020 of works by Mozart. In 2017, Decca Gold released Cliburn Gold 2017 two weeks after Yekwon was awarded the Gold Medal and includes his award-winning performances of Ravel's La Valse and Rachmaninov's Second Piano Sonata.

Korea Music Foundation

Founded in 1984, the Korea Music Foundation enhances lives and strengthens communities through the transformative impact of music. Since its inception, KMF has presented numerous solo, orchestra, and chamber ensemble debut concerts in New York at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall. KMF has presented artists David Kim, Catherine Cho, Minsoo Sohn and many others in concert, and runs a chamber music series at the Korean Cultural Service New York. 

KMF has been working with Korea Mecenat Association, a distinguished group of Korean companies with the aim to elevate the prominence of K-Classical on a global stage by showcasing exceptional Korean performers in American classical venues. Visit KoreaMusicFoundation.org.