The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is presenting a fabulous winter festival featuring the complete Beethoven String Quartets by the Danish String Quartet. Ligeti’s Bagatelles for Wind Quintet will feature Michael Brown, one of the famed pianists from Pianofest in the Hamptons.
Winter Festival: The Complete Beethoven String Quartets Performed by the Danish String Quartet
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.
To celebrate the Chamber Music Society’s (CMS) 50th anniversary season and the 250th birthday of Beethoven, the 2020 edition of the Winter Festival of performances will feature all 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. We’re excited to see the critically-acclaimed Danish String Quartet take on that challenge!
CMS is passionate about music education as well as performances, so each Beethoven String Quartet concert will be preceded by a lecture given by CMS Co-Artistic director David Finckel. He will share the extraordinary details of the quartets, and play excerpts from the cycle as cellist, accompanied by an ensemble of CMS musicians. Tickets are available for purchase by concert ticket-holders only.
Performances will be held on 2/7/20, 2/9/20, 2/11/20, 2/14/20, 2/16/20, 2/18/20. Learn more and get tickets.
Ligeti’s Bagatelles for Wind Quintet Featuring Pianist Michael Brown
György Ligeti has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" and "one of the most innovative and influential among progressive figures of his time." On February 25, don’t miss a performance of Ligeti’s Bagatelles for Wind Quintet, surrounded by wind ensemble pieces from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
Ligeti, one of the 20th century’s greatest musical innovators, will be joined on the program by compositions by Mozart, Reicha, Barber, and Françaix. This concert is on tour throughout New Jersey, South Carolina, Nevada, Georgia, and upstate New York as well.
This outstanding collection of internationally-renowned wind players will be joined by pianist Michael Brown. Brown has been hailed by The New York Times as “one of the leading figures in the current renaissance of performer-composers.” His artistry is shaped by his creative voice as a pianist and composer, praised for his “fearless performances” (The New York Times) and “exceptionally beautiful” compositions (The Washington Post). He is also one of the famed alumni of Pianofest in the Hamptons.
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