Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts’ annual chamber music series is about to become even more of a must-have ticket.
As part of its Chamber Music at The Barns series, the national arts center in Vienna recently announced it has entered a three-year partnership with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS). CMS is part of New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, which is the largest performing arts venue in the world.
Established in 1986, Chamber Music at The Barns spotlights world-class artists in an intimate and accessible setting with amazing acoustics and audience interaction through question-and-answer sessions and receptions with the performers. Together with the CMS, known for its high-quality inspired programming, the two will offer audiences concert experiences starting this fall and continuing through the end of 2023.
“The three-year partnership between Wolf Trap and The Chamber Music Society (CMS) is truly greater than the sum of its parts,” says Lee Anne Myslewski, Vice President for Opera and Classical Programming at Wolf Trap. “CMS is a titan known for their incredible level of artistry. The Wolf Trap Chamber Music at The Barns legacy is that of celebrating the most masterful artists across genres, making this pairing truly a win-win for everyone.”
The collaboration was the brainchild of Myslewski and Wu Han, a pianist, educator and cultural entrepreneur who has served as artistic advisor for Chamber Music at The Barns since 2018 and will continue in the role until the end of 2023, curating programs and performing herself. Myslewski recalls a shared meal a few years ago during which she and Han began developing a plan to make Wolf Trap’s chamber music program the premier series of its kind in the DC area. “This partnership is the culmination of years of planning and collaboration, and I couldn’t be more pleased,” Myslewski says.
When live performances resume, there will be around four CMS concerts per year. However because of the pandemic, the series will kick off this fall with CMS Front Row, a virtual collection of performances, informal conversations with the artists and a question and answer session. As Myslewski says, “Wolf Trap’s audiences are accustomed to learning firsthand about the performers during our concerts, and I’m grateful that CMS values our partnership so much as to ensure this practice is continued for our patrons.”
The virtual concerts are free and are able to be streamed for a time after their launch. First up was Michael Brown on Oct. 2 doing works including Prelude and Dance and Mendelssohn’s Sextet in D Major. On Oct. 25, Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung will perform Mozart’s Concerto No. 14 and Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. Cho-Liang Lin will do Foss’ Composer’s Holiday, Dvořák’s “Larghetto” and Tchaikovsky’s Sextet for Two Violins, Two Violas and Two Cellos on Nov. 15. The fall digital lineup concludes on Dec. 4 with Gilbert Kalish performing works by Schubert, Brahms and George Crumb. Friday concerts go live at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday performances begin streaming at 3 p.m.
(Pictured: Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung)
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