92NY to Present Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih in April 2026 Cello Recital
The duo will perform on the David Geffen Stage at Kaufmann Concert Hall, with tickets starting at $45.
The 92nd Street Y, New York will present Steven Isserlis, cello & Connie Shih, piano on the David Geffen Stage at Kaufmann Concert Hall, 92NY, 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128, on Saturday, April 18, 2026 at 7:30PM. Tickets start at $45 ($25 for streaming) and are available now.
World-renowned cellist Steven Isserlis follows his performances at 92NY this summer with Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk, returning now with award-winning pianist and longtime collaborator Connie Shih. Isserlis has a deep love for Schumann, and the duo's program includes the composer's dreamy "Fantasy Pieces," Kabalevsky's striking and compelling Cello Sonata, written for Rostropovich, and more before concluding with Beethoven's Third Cello Sonata - the first equal sonata for cello and piano - and a work Isserlis says is "suffused with joy and love of life."
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven 12 Variations on a Theme from The Magic Flute, Op. 66
Robert Schumann Fantasiestücke, Op. 73
Dmitry Kabalevsky Cello Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 71
Vítězslava Kaprálová Deux ritournelles pour violincelle et piano, Op. 25
Beethoven Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69
Steven Isserlis
British cellist Steven Isserlis CBE enjoys an international career as a soloist, chamber musician, author, educator, and broadcaster. He performs with the world's greatest orchestras, from period to modern ensembles, and has given many world premieres, including Sir John Tavener's The Protecting Veil, Thomas Adès's Lieux retrouvés, four works for solo cello by György Kurtág, and pieces by Holliger, Widmann, Mustonen, and many others.
His vast award-winning discography includes the complete J.S. Bach Cello Suites (Gramophone Instrumental Album of the Year), Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano, the Brahms double concerto with Joshua Bell and the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields, and Grammy-nominated recordings of Haydn and Martinů.
As an author, his latest book is a critically acclaimed companion to the Bach cello suites, while his two books for children about music are among the genre's most popular and have been translated into many languages. He has also authored a commentary on Schumann's Advice for Young Musicians. As a broadcaster, he has written and presented in-depth documentaries for BBC Radio, on Robert Schumann, and Harpo Marx.
He has programmed imaginative series for London's Wigmore Hall, New York's 92nd Street Y, and the Salzburg Festival. Unusually, he directs orchestras from the cello, including Luzerner Sinfonieorchester in 2019 with Radu Lupu in his final public performance.
He was awarded a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998, in recognition of his services to music. International recognition includes the Piatigorsky Prize (USA) and the Glashütte Original Music Festival Award (Germany). Since 1997, he has been Artistic Director of the International Musicians Seminar, Prussia Cove, Cornwall.
He plays the 1726 'Marquis de Corberon' Stradivarius, on loan from the Royal Academy of Music.
Connie Shih
Canadian pianist Connie Shih is widely celebrated as an artist of exceptional sensitivity and depth. Born in Vancouver, she began studying the piano at the age of five as the youngest of three gifted sisters. At nine, she made her orchestral debut performing Mendelssohn's First Piano Concerto with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. In 1993, she received the Sylva Gelber Prize as the most outstanding classical artist in Canada under the age of thirty.
As a soloist, Shih has appeared with major orchestras across Canada, the United States, and Europe, and has given recitals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, including in Iceland, England, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan, and China. Together with her duo partner, cellist Steven Isserlis, she performs regularly to critical acclaim on the world's leading stages. Her chamber music engagements have taken her to Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Bath Music Festival, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Verbier, Lucerne, and the Kronberg Festival. She has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Sir Simon Keenlyside, Joshua Bell, Maxim Vengerov, Tabea Zimmermann, Manuel Fischer-Dieskau, and Isabelle Faust.
Shih's performances are frequently broadcast on major radio and television networks including CBC (Canada), BBC (UK), and SWR, NDR, and WDR (Germany), as well as other outlets throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. She has served on the faculties of the Hochschule für Musik Mainz and the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, and since 2022 has been Professor of Piano and Piano Chamber Music at the Salzburg Mozarteum. She has also given masterclasses at leading music institutes and has been a lecturer at the Casalmaggiore International Festival in Italy and Musiktage am Rhein. This summer, she joins the faculty of the Mozarteum Summer Academy.
At age twelve, Shih became the youngest protégé of her mentor, György Sebök. She later continued her studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Claude Frank, himself a protégé of Arthur Schnabel, and subsequently pursued further studies in Europe with Fou Ts'ong.
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