Chamber Music Society's May Concerts Include Jorg Widman, Tan Dun & More
Take a look at the full May lineup here.
By: Josh Sharpe Apr. 03, 2025
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's May concert calendar includes a performance honoring Founding Artistic Director Charles Wadsworth, Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir De Florence, Beethoven Trilogy III, and more. Take a look at the complete lineup below.
May 2025 Concert Calendar
Friday May 2, 2025, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center • Alice Tully Hall
THE WADSWORTH LEGACY
Amanda Batista, Soprano | Frederica von Stade, Mezzo-Soprano
Ben Bliss, Tenor | Thomas Hampson, Baritone
CMS honors the legacy of Founding Artistic Director Charles Wadsworth, who redefined chamber music for the latter half of the 20th century. Before CMS was founded, “chamber music” to most audiences meant string quartets, with the occasional piano trio or other standard ensemble. Wadsworth expanded the repertoire that audiences heard regularly, through less standard groupings of instruments as well as the frequent inclusion of singers and the presence of multiple generations playing together on stage, all of which have become hallmarks of the Chamber Music Society.
To celebrate Wadsworth's legacy, the program opens with Johann Gottlieb Goldberg’s Trio Sonata for Two Violins and Continuo, which opened CMS’s first-ever concert on September 11, 1969, labeled as Bach's Trio (it was later recognized as the work of pianist/composer Goldberg). An all-star, intergenerational vocal quartet -- soprano Amanda Batista in her CMS Mainstage debut, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, tenor Ben Bliss in his CMS debut, and baritone Thomas Hampson -- joined by pianists Ken Noda and Wu Han, perform a selection of lieder by Robert Schumann.The evening closes with Saint-Saëns' Septet in E-flat major for Trumpet, Two Violins, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, and Piano, an unusual ensemble that is yet another legacy of Charles Wadsworth.
Sunday May 4, 2025, 5 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center • Alice Tully Hall
TCHAIKOVSKY’S SOUVENIR DE FLORENCE
An ensemble of six string players, including CMS Artistic Director and cellist David Finckel, offers Tchaikovsky's blockbuster Souvenir de Florence as well as Strauss's sextet from Capriccio. Two trios open the program: Bach's “Ricercar a 6,” in which the composer used six voices to compose his fugue-on-demand for Frederick the Great, and Schubert's Trio in B-flat major.
Tuesday May 6, 2025, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center • Alice Tully Hall
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY III: ELGAR’S QUINTET
CMS's year-long series featuring the works and influence of Beethoven nears its end with the composer's late period alongside works from Brahms and Elgar, also composed late in their careers. Beethoven's pivotal Cello Sonata No. 5 in D major is arguably his first “late-period” work. Brahms's Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor is imbued with a sense of nostalgia characteristic of his later years. And Elgar's Piano Quintet in A minor builds on the earlier traditions of Beethoven's piano quintet and was composed later in Elgar's career during a reflective period after World War I.
Friday May 9, 2025, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center • Alice Tully Hall
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY III: BEETHOVEN QUARTET CYCLE V
The Calidore String Quartet continues its ambitious journey through Beethoven's string quartets at CMS with two of Beethoven's final quartets: Op. 132, renowned for its "Heiliger Dankgesang" movement—a hymn of joy and thanks for the gift of life following the composer's recovery from illness; and Op. 130, a work that broke the musical conventions of its time and continues to challenge performers and audiences alike; it is presented here with its original finale, the formidable "Grosse Fuge," Op. 133.
Tuesday May 13, 2025, 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center • Alice Tully Hall
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY III: MONTGOMERY, WIDMANN, AND TAN DUN
Tony Arnold, Soprano; Wu Man, Pipa; Juilliard String Quartet
As a tribute to Beethoven’s uncanny connection to the music of our time, CMS offers works of bracing individuality written by five living composers from around the globe: Jessie Montgomery’s Duo for Violin and Cello; Evgeny Kissin’s Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello; Brett Dean’s Quartet No. 2 for Strings and Soprano “And once I played Ophelia,” featuring soprano Tony Arnold; Jörg Widmann’s String Quartet No. 8 “Study on Beethoven III”, which has direct links to Beethoven’s quartet legacy.; and Tan Dun’s Concerto for String Quartet and Pipa, with soloist Wu Man. The concerto was written for Wu Man in 1999, derived from the five-movement work for string quartet and pipa with water, metal, stones, and paper, Ghost Opera (1994), and recorded on Onyx (2008).
Thursday May 15, 2025, 6:30 & 9 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center • Rose Studios
ROSE STUDIO SERIES V: BEETHOVEN & ONSLOW
The Rose Studio Series concludes the season with a string quintet by rarely-heard 18th-century French composer George Onslow, the first CMS performance of any work by this composer. His imressive output of string quartets and quintets—over 70 works—were held in the highest regard during his lifetime in Germany, Austria, and England. Onslow counted Schubert and Beethoven among his closest friends.
Sunday May 18, 2025, 5 PM
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center • Alice Tully Hall
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY III: BEETHOVEN QUARTET CYCLE VI
The Calidore String Quartet concludes the Beethoven Trilogy and the CMS Season with two of the composer’s final quartets, each a testament to his late-period genius. Op. 131 is a towering work that unfolds across seven interconnected movements without pause. Op. 135 is Beethoven’s farewell to the genre. Its enigmatic final movement, marked by the question Muss es sein? ("Must it be?"), offers a philosophical and playful resolution to Beethoven’s lifelong exploration of musical form, culminating in a decisive conclusion. CMS ends its season much like Beethoven concluded his quartets—bold, introspective, and forever looking to the future.
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