Chamber Music Society Of Lincoln Center's March Concerts Include Winter Festival's Russian Panorama, Hungarian Fire And Seven Last Words

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's season-long focus on the music of Russia comes to a highpoint in March with its annual Winter Festival, Russian Panorama, which will present four programs filled with Russian works composed between 1832 and 1979 (Mar. 10, 15, 19 & 24). The Festival's broad survey of repertoire will range from the age of the tsars to beyond the Soviet era, comprising works by Balakirev, Borodin, Glinka, Glazunov, Myaskovsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rubinstein, Schnittke, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Taneyev, and Tchaikovsky. Among the many superlative artists taking part in these concerts are acclaimed pianists Anne-Marie McDermottand Wu Han, violinists Chad Hoopes and Arnaud Sussmann, violist Matthew Lipman, and the legendary Borodin String Quartet, returning to CMS with its interpretation of quartets by several Russian composers, including its namesake, Borodin. Returning lecturer Michael Parloff will inaugurate the Winter Festival's Russian journey with an overview of the country's rich musical tapestry on March 5.

March concerts also feature Hungarian Fire, a program examining how Hungary's musical roots in folk tradition had a widespread influence on composers of other lands, demonstrated in works by Brahms, Kodály, Bartók, Ligeti, and Dohnányi. The artists are pianist Alessio Bax, violinistsIda Kavafian and Alexi Kenney, violist Yura Lee, cellist Dmitri Atapine, and clarinetistSebastian Manz (March 3).

At the end of the month, Haydn's moving work Seven Last Words-a commission the composer received to mark Good Friday-along with Bach's cantata Ich habe genug, will be performed by bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green. Green recently appeared on CBS 60 Minutes to tell the story of his rise from juvenile delinquent to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. The concert also features harpsichordist Paolo Bordignon, the Orion String Quartet, bassist Timothy Cobb, and oboist Stephen Taylor (Mar. 31). Michael Parloff will explore the history of the work and the ways that Haydn's "wordless oratorio" illuminates the meaning of Christ's final words in a pre-concert lecture. The New Music in the Rose series will continue with an evening of innovative works by du Bois, Wuorinen, Pintscher, and Ludwig with pianistMichael Brown, violinist Bella Hristova, violist Richard O'Neill, and cellist Mihai Marica (Mar. 21).