SPAC Announces Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Summer Season

Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) has announced Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s 2024 summer season with six Sunday afternoon programs from June 16 to  August 18 at the infamous Spa Little Theater

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s summer season will open with “Romantic Masterpieces,” showcasing works from Brahms and Arensky on June 16, followed by “Musical Mosaics” featuring Mozart, Puccini, Brahms and Dvořák on June 23.

“Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Brahms” with the Escher String Quartet will follow on July 14,  an “Enchanting Winds” program on July 21 and “Beethoven, Ravel, and Schumann” on August 11. The season will close with “The Carnival of the Animals” on August 18, in its original instrumentation for chamber ensemble.  

Announcing the exciting season, Elizabeth Sobol, the President and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center shared that the summer season will “open the the Spa Little Theater doors for our community to experience world-class chamber music – now year round — is an important part of our expanded mission” and they’re also looking forward to continuing this new tradition with their partners at CMS under the brilliant direction of Wu Han and David Finckel. 

Anchored by Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Artistic directors Wu Han (piano) and David Finckel (cello), this season’s guest artists also include violinists Bella Hristova, Chad Hoopes, Kristin Lee, Adam Barnett-Hart, Brendan Speltz, Danbi Um, and Francisco Fullana; violists Paul Neubauer, Pierre Lapointe, Matthew Lipman, and Guillermo Figueroa; cellists Dmitri Atapine, Brook Speltz, Nicholas Canellakis, and Sterling Elliott; double bassist Nina Bernat; pianists Wu Qian, Anna Geniushene, Evren Ozel, and Michael Stephen Brown; clarinetists Romie de Guise-Langlois and David Shifrin; flutists Demarre McGill and Sooyun Kim; Hugo Valverde on horn; bassoonist Peter Kolkay; harpist Bridget Kibbey; percussionists Ian David Rosenblum and Ayano Kataoka, and The Escher String Quartet. 

SPAC is a very special place to hear music. We always find the brief journey from the highway into the park totally transformative, preparing us to experience the greatness of music surrounded by the glories and miracles of nature. SPAC is so much more than a park: it’s a place for communal appreciation of the finest the world has to offer, and CMS is immensely proud to be a part of it.

CMS Artistic Directors Wu Han and David Finckel

The summer season follows two previously announced spring concerts offered by CMS. The final spring performance is slated for May 11 with pianist Wu Han, violinist Chad Hoopes, and cellist David Finckel featuring works by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Smetana.

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center residency is presented by Charles Schwab – Maureen Parker from June 16 – August 18

June 16: Romantic Masterpieces

Wu Han, piano

Wu Qian, piano

Bella Hristova, violin 

Dmitri Atapine, cello

Arensky – Six Children’s Pieces for Piano, Four Hands

Arensky – Trio No. 1 in D minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello

Brahms – Selections from Hungarian Dances for Piano, Four Hands

Brahms – Trio in C major for Piano, Violin, and Cello

June 23: Musical Mosaics

Chad Hoopes, violin

Kristin Lee, violin

Paul Neubauer, viola

Matthew Lipman, viola

David Finckel, cello

 Dvořák – Drobnosti (Miniatures) for Two Violins and Viola

Puccini – Crisantemi for String Quartet 

Mozart – Quintet in C minor for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello

Dvořák – Selections from Cypresses (Echo of Songs) for String Quartet

Brahms – Quintet in G major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello

July 14: Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Brahms

 Escher String Quartet

Adam Barnett-Hart, violin

Brendan Speltz, violin

Pierre Lapointe, viola

Brook Speltz, cello

Anna Geniushene, piano

Mozart – Quartet in B-flat major for Strings

Mendelssohn – Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major for Strings       

Brahms – Quintet in F minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello

July 21: Enchanting Winds

Evren Ozel, piano

Demarre McGill, flute

Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet

Juri Vallentin, oboe

Hugo Valverde, horn

Peter Kolkay, bassoon 

Rossini – Quartet No. 4 for Flute, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon in B-flat major

Saint-Saëns – Sonata for Oboe and Piano

Taffanel –  Quintet in G minor for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn

Poulenc –  Sonata for Flute and Piano

Mozart – Quintet in E-flat major for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano

August 11: Beethoven, Ravel, and Schumann

Michael Stephen Brown, piano 

Nicholas Canellakis, cello 

Danbi Um, violin 

 Beethoven – Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano

Ravel – Sonata for Violin and Cello  

Schumann – Trio No. 1 in D minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello

August 18: The Carnival of the Animals

Wu Han, piano 

Wu Qian, piano 

Sooyun Kim, flute 

David Shifrin, clarinet 

Bridget Kibbey, harp 

Ian David Rosenbaum, percussion 

Ayano Kataoka, percussion 

Richard Lin, violin 

Francisco Fullana, violin 

Guillermo Figueroa, viola 

Sterling Elliott, cello 

Nina Bernat, double bass 

Biber – Sonata representativa in A major for Violin and Continuo

Bach – Concerto in A major for Keyboard, Strings, and Continuo

Vivaldi – Concerto in D major for Flute, Strings, and Continuo 

Ravel – Introduction et allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet, and String Quartet 

Saint-Saëns – Le carnaval des animaux for Ensemble

All summer 2024 CMS events will be held at the Spa Little Theatre in Saratoga Springs, with tickets and subscriptions being available starting March 13, and fans can visit spac.org for more information

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