Bach anyone? St. Cecilia to offer four free Chamber Music Society virtual concerts

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will team with St. Cecilia Music Center for a series of free virtual concert programs. (Supplied/CMS)

By WKTV Staff

ken@wktv.org

St. Cecilia Music Center has announced the 2021 Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center virtual concerts, with four free-to-the-public nights of chamber music beginning in January and running through April.

Kicking off the concerts is maybe the most famous program of all chamber music programs, Bach’s The Brandenburg Concertos, set to premiere Thursday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m., on the St. Cecilia website, but, as with all concerts, the concert remains available for viewing for a week after initial air date.

 

“While we are still unable to gather audiences in person at this time due to COVID-19, SCMC remains committed to bringing our patrons great music into the safety of their own home,” St. Cecilia states in supplied material. “We received enthusiastic and positive feedback on our fall series and are pleased to continue this offering into the new year.”

The Chamber Music Society has thousands of professionally recorded archived performances, according to supplied material, and co-artistic directors David Finckel and Wu Han have “put together wonderful programs that feature an artist on each piece in each program.” A pre-concert artist profile and a post-concert Q&A with the artist, led by Finckel and Wu Han, “make these concert offerings unique and personal.” 

The concert programs and dates

The Brandenburg Concertos (concerto No.s 1-6) is Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m., and featuring more than 40 musicians performing one or more of the six pieces.

A program featuring pianist Gloria Chien is Thursday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m., and will include  Field’s Nocturne No. 2 in C minor for Piano, Liszt’s Grand duo concertant sur la romance de ‘Le Marin’ for Violin and Piano, and Mendelssohn’s Quartet in C minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 1.

A program featuring violist Paul Neubauer is Thursday, March 18 at 7 p.m., and will include Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tales) for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op. 132; Dale’s “Romance” from Suite for Viola and Piano; Turina’s Escena andaluza for Viola, String Quartet, and Piano, Op. 7; Kreisler’s Liebeslied for Three Violins, Viola, and Cello; Shostakovich’s Impromptu for Viola and Piano; and Boulanger’s American Vision for Viola and Piano Trio.

The series will wrap up with a program featuring violinist Ani Kavafian on Thursday, April 1 at 7 p.m., and will included Brahms’ Scherzo, WoO 2, from “F-A-E” Sonata for Violin and Piano; Babajanian’s Trio in F-sharp minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello; and Dvorák’s Trio in F minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 65.

For more information visit scms-online.org/virtual.

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