Pittsfield — One of the most prestigious chamber-music institutions in the world, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) is an old friend of the South Mountain Association. And every year, the Society’s co-directors, David Finckel and Wu Han, come to South Mountain to perform chamber music with distinguished, CMS-affiliated friends, and the playing always exemplifies the level of musicianship CMS is famous for around the world. So when a group like the Juilliard Quartet must cancel a South Mountain appearance, there is a good chance musicians from CMS will replace them. That is the case with the September 22 concert, and the Society, as usual, is sending the best of the best, including co-director David Finckel, up to Pittsfield to play a program of works by Mozart, Kodály, and Dvořák.
Here’s the lineup:
- Aaron Boyd, violin
- Danbi Um, violin
- Paul Neubauer, viola
- Daniel Phillips, viola
- David Finckel, cello
And here is Sunday’s program:
- Mozart — String Quintet in C Minor, K. 406 (1782, arr. 1787)
- Kodály — Serenade for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 12
- Dvořák — String Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 97
Based in Dallas, Texas, where he is director of chamber music and professor of practice in violin at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University, Aaron Boyd keeps busy as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader, recording artist, lecturer, and teacher. A former member of the Escher String Quartet, Boyd was a recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Martin E. Segal prize from Lincoln Center. He has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
The Strad magazine calls Danbi Um an “utterly dazzling” artist. She is a Menuhin International Violin Competition Silver Medalist, winner of the 2018 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and a top-prize winner of the Naumburg International Violin Competition. Her debut album “Much Ado: Romantic Violin Masterworks” was released in the fall of 2023. An alum of CMS’s Bowers Program, Ms. Um plays a 1683 “ex-Petschek” Nicolo Amati violin, on loan from a private collection.
Paul Neubauer became principal violist of the New York Philharmonic at the age of 21 and has appeared as soloist with over 100 orchestras, including the New York, Los Angeles, and Helsinki philharmonics; National, St. Louis, Detroit, Dallas, San Francisco, and Bournemouth symphonies; and Santa Cecilia, English Chamber, and Beethovenhalle orchestras. A two-time GRAMMY nominee, Neubauer has recorded for such labels as Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, RCA Red Seal, and Sony Classical. He is the artistic director of the Mostly Music series in New Jersey and is on the faculty of the Juilliard School and Mannes College.
Manhattan-based violinist Daniel Phillips first came to public attention when he won the 1976 Young Concert Artists Competition. A Juilliard graduate, Phillips has performed as a soloist with such orchestras as the Pittsburgh, Houston, New Jersey, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Yakima symphonies. He is co-artistic director of Music from Angel Fire and appears regularly at the Spoleto USA Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, Chesapeake Music Festival, the International Musicians Seminar in England, and Marlboro Music Festival. He is a professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and on the faculties of the Mannes College of Music, Bard College Conservatory, and the Juilliard School.
An indefatigable advocate of chamber music, music education, and entrepreneurship in the arts, David Finckel is easily one of most influential people in the entire chamber-music world. Co-artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York, Finckel was cellist of the Emerson String Quartet for over three decades, during which time the group became one of the most successful and critically acclaimed string quartets in the world, winning multiple Grammy Awards and returning faithfully each year to perform at South Mountain until the group disbanded.
Hear CMS musicians Aaron Boyd, Danbi Um, Paul Neubauer, Daniel Phillips, and David Finckel perform a program of works by Mozart, Kodály, and Dvořák on Sunday, September 22, at South Mountain Concerts, 730 South Street, Pittsfield.
South Mountain is located two miles south of Pittsfield center on U.S. Route 7 (South Street in Pittsfield). More information and tickets are available here.
