Monday! Baruch PAC season opens with ACME

View with Images

Baruch Performing Arts Center 2025-2026 concert season begins Monday, October 27

ACME – “contemporary music dynamos” (NPR) – performs Music for Film and Beyond by Philip Glass, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Michael Nyman, Ennio Morricone and more

Coming up on Baruch PAC's 25-26 concert season: Jazz pianist Sullivan Fortner, Baritone Joseph Parrish, and the Akshara music ensemble

On Monday, October 27 at 7 pm, American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) opens Baruch Performing Arts Center’s 2025-2026 concert season with Soundscapes: Music for Film and Beyond. The award-winning chamber group performs works by Philip Glass, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Michael Nyman, Ennio Morricone, Nico Muhly, Jóhann Jóhannsson and ACME’s Artistic Director, Clarice Jensen. Baruch PAC is located at 55 Lexington Ave (25th St, between 3rd and Lexington Aves). Tickets are $35 ($20 with CUNY ID), available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu.

The program explores the intersection between contemporary classical music and cinema, including selections from Morricone's lush score for The Mission and the lyrical second movement of Nyman's String Quartet No. 2. Glass's String Quartet No. 3, Mishima, taken from his score for Paul Schrader’s 1985 film, features driving rhythms and hypnotic patterns. This is a Silberman Recital Series concert.

Complete details of Baruch PAC’s 2025-2026 concert season have just been announced. Coming up:

• Jazz virtuoso Sullivan Fortner - solo piano (Dec. 12)

• Baritone Joseph Parrish - Songs from the Harlem Renaissance (Feb. 10)

• World music ensemble Akshara (March 9)

Details are below.

Baruch PAC 2025-2026 Concerts

Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Ave, New York, NY (enter on 25th Street, between 3rd and Lexington Avenues)

October 27, 7 pm: "Soundscapes: Music for Film and Beyond"
American Contemporary Music Ensemble
A Silberman Recital Series Concert

American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) opens Baruch Performing Arts Center’s 2025-2026 concert season with "Soundscapes: Music for Film and Beyond." The acclaimed chamber group will perform works by Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, Ennio Morricone, Nico Muhly, Jóhann Jóhannsson and ACME’s Artistic Director, Clarice Jensen at Baruch PAC's intimate recital hall. A Silberman Recital Series concert.

December 12, 7:30 pm: Jazz pianist Sullivan Fortner solo recital
A Milt Hinton Jazz Perspectives Concert

GRAMMY Award-winning pianist and recent winner of the prestigious Jazz Artist Award from The Gilmore Foundation, Sullivan Fortner comes to Baruch PAC for his only solo recital in the region this year. Fortner is a frequent collaborator of Cecile McLorin Salvant, and has released four critically-acclaimed albums as a solo leader. TICKETS

February 10, 7 pm: “Songs from the Harlem Renaissance”

Baritone Joseph Parrish

Joseph Parrish returns to Baruch PAC following his critically-acclaimed performance in 2023, with an evening of art songs from the Harlem Renaissance, curated specially for his Baruch appearance. Parrish was a recipient of the 2024 Sullivan Grant, a member of the Salzburger Festspiele Young Singers Project for the 2024 festival season, a prize winner in the Opera Index Voice Competition 2024 and winner of the 2022 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions. TICKETS

March 9: Akshara

World music ensemble

A Silberman Recital Series Concert

Akshara is a dynamic music ensemble bringing together world music traditions on the rhythmic and modal foundations of Indian classical music. Along with NYC’s brightest musical talent, including two Grammy nominees, Akshara Music Ensemble’s leader and composer, Bala Skandan presents surprising and delightful interpretations of traditional ragas like Kamboji, Mohana, Gambira Natai and Shanmugapriya arranged for Carnatic, Hindustani, and Western classical and folk instruments.

Tickets on sale beginning early November.

Talea Ensemble's season begins Oct. 28 in Brooklyn

Read full release

Talea Ensemble announces 2025-26 season at new home in Brooklyn

"Talea Presents" series at St. Bartholomew Hall celebrates Luciano Berio's centennial in intimate solo performances plus large ensemble programs including works by Katherine Balch, George Lewis, and more

Season launch on October 28 with pianist Steve Beck and trumpet player Sam Jones features Martinu, Ades and Boulez alongside Berio's Sequenzas

Acclaimed for its ground-breaking performances of avant-garde and experimental concert music, Talea Ensemble is proud to announce its 2025-2026 concert season in its new home in Brooklyn at St. Bartholomew Hall at The Church of St. Luke and St. Mathew (520 Clinton Ave, Brooklyn).

The season begins on October 28 at 7:30 pm, with pianist Steve Beck and trumpet player Sam Jones. The program features Luciano Berio's Sequenzas X and IV, plus the world premiere of Saad Haddad's "Tasalsul VI" for double-bell trumpet, the NY premiere of Loretta Notareschi's "Novella," and music by Thomas Ades, Bohuslav Martinů, and Pierre Boulez. Full program details at bottom of this link..

The October 28 concert is the first of four "Sequenze" programs this season to celebrate Luciano Berio's 100th birth anniversary. Each of these concerts will showcase musicians as soloists performing and curating programs centered around Berio's iconic Sequenza compositions.

The season also features concerts with the full ensemble, including: a program of world premieres written for Talea; a performance of works by Alex Weiser, George Lewis, Pierre Boulez, and Eric Chasalow; and a collaboration with Catapult Opera performing Kaija Saariaho's Émilie. Season details are below.

Executive Director Adrian Morejon says "We are thrilled to share such compelling compositions in our new home at St. Bartholomew Hall at the Church of St. Luke and St. Mathew in Clinton Hill. We cannot wait to play these concerts for New York City audiences, while celebrating Berio's 100th anniversary with dynamic programming from Talea's members."

In addition to the "Talea Presents" series at St. Bartholomew Hall in Brooklyn the Ensemble travels to Minnesota and Upstate New York for performances and residencies in May. Program details here.

Insider Interview: Suzanne Stumpf and Dan Ryan, Artistic Directors for Musicians of the Old Post Road

The Boston-based chamber ensemble Musicians of the Old Post Road (MOPR) specializes in the period instrument performance of dynamic and diverse music from the Baroque to early Romantic eras. Their latest album "Into the Light" features rediscovered music by the German composer Christoph Graupner (1683-1760), including world premiere recordings. We spoke with MOPR co-artistic directors Suzanne Stumpf and Dan Ryan about the new album, performing on historical instruments, Graupner’s music and his world, and more.

How did you first become aware of the composer Christoph Graupner (1683-1760)?  

The first work we performed by Graupner was a trio sonata for flute, viola d’amore and continuo. We programmed that for a concert on which we featured unusual Baroque instruments. We were very struck by his originality and decided to investigate more of his oeuvre. 

Why do you think his music has been neglected until recently?  

Graupner’s works were locked in a legal battle after his death. Graupner’s heirs wanted to sell his manuscripts to the successors of the Landgrave of Darmstadt, Graupner’s employer. But the successors contended that they already owned the music because Graupner had been employed by the Landgrave, and the concept of intellectual property rights did not exist at the time.  

This was not resolved until late in the 19th century, then the two World Wars limited access to the collection in the first half of the 20th century. The Darmstadt library now has possession of his manuscripts and has made them available. They have been most helpful to us and are very excited about our advocacy efforts. 

What makes his music stand out from his contemporaries? 

Graupner’s musical language and musical devices are very original, and his music can be very dramatic and poignant. He is able to spin out a dramatic musical tale, if you will, using very minimal motivic material. He also makes great use of instrumental textures which he creates using the motifs that he selects for each movement. His harmonic sequences also take unexpected turns.  

Each of the works that we feature on our Into the Light album make use of very unusual musical devices. Some examples include the roles of the treble instruments in his Trio Sonata in B Minor. Rather than using the typical sharing and passing back and forth of main and accompanying themes, he assigns very different roles and motivic material to the flute and violin in the two outer movements of the sonata. In the first movement of his Quartet in G Minor, he uses pervasive, repeated rests in the accompanying parts that create a transparent texture that allows the listener to follow the theme as it is passed among the string instruments. His G Major Sonata for obbligato harpsichord is written with two accompanying instruments—flute and cello—which itself is unusual, but then he leaves the cello out for most of the second movement, and leads the movement into a very haunting texture between pulsing repeated pitches on the flute together with slow arpeggiation in the harpsichord part. And, the flute concerto we include does not have the usual alternating sections between tuttis and solos that are a standard part of most concertos. After the opening tutti, the flute solo begins and continues through the entire rest of the movement until the closing tutti at the end. These are just but a few examples of his originality! 

What are the challenges and/or rewards of performing Graupner’s music? 

Both the challenge and reward of performing Graupner’s works are the uniqueness of his compositional techniques and his musical language. The devices and tools he uses are so off the beaten track of most Baroque compositional techniques that on first reading it is sometimes difficult to understand what he is getting at! However, by spending time deciphering his intention and messages in each work, his musical voice and language come clearer and clearer. This process in itself is very rewarding, and we have truly enjoyed our role in striving to understand his intentions and advocating for the power and genius in his works for modern audiences.  

Musicians of the Old Post Road specializes in “period instrument performances.” Can you give us some details about what that entails? 

Our ensemble specializes in the performance of Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic music on period instruments. We all use historical instruments or replicas in our work together. And we all have the specialized equipment needed for each of those eras as instruments all underwent structural changes across the time period of our repertoire from the 1670s to the 1840s (which by the way is the timeframe that the Old Boston Post Road itself flourished!) The string instruments are typically set up with gut strings, and the bows vary in structure and length. The flutes during those years were most typically made of wood, and the acoustical properties of the instruments are such that there are different personalities that result from playing in different keys.  

We use harpsichords for Baroque music and early pianos for Classical and Romantic repertoire. As specialists on these instruments, we feel that the sound world that they offer is helpful in finding what was in the composers’ ears at the time they were writing—the sound of the historical instruments certainly offers helpful influences in our interpretations. Our audiences are always struck by the beautiful timbres of these instruments and how they bring the music to life. 

"Music for Film and Beyond" – Oct. 27 at Baruch PAC

View with Images

Baruch Performing Arts Center 2025-2026 concert season begins October 27

Soundscapes: Music for Film and Beyond explores the intersection between contemporary concert music and cinema 

ACME – a group that has specialized in new chamber music for over 20 years – performs music written for film by Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, Ennio Morricone and others

On Monday, October 27 at 7 pm, American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) opens Baruch Performing Arts Center’s 2025-2026 concert season with Soundscapes: Music for Film and Beyond. The acclaimed chamber group performs works by Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, Ennio Morricone, Nico Muhly, Jóhann Jóhannsson and ACME’s Artistic Director, Clarice Jensen. Baruch PAC is located at 55 Lexington Ave (25th St, between 3rd and Lexington Aves). Tickets are $35, available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu.

The program explores the intersection between contemporary classical music and cinema, including selections from Morricone's lush score for The Mission and the lyrical second movement of Nyman's String Quartet No. 2. Glass's String Quartet No. 3, Mishima, taken from his score for Paul Schrader’s 1985 film, features driving rhythms and hypnotic patterns. This is a Silberman Recital Series concert.

Baruch PAC’s 2025-26 season continues on December 12 with virtuoso jazz pianist Sullivan Fortner. In February, baritone Joseph Parrish returns to the Baruch PAC stage with a program inspired by the writers of the Harlem Renaissance. An additional spring performance will be announced soon. 

Calendar Listing

Monday, October 27, 2025 at 7 pm

American Contemporary Music Ensemble

Soundscapes: Music for Film and Beyond

A Silberman Recital Series Concert

Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10010 (enter on 25th Street, between 3rd and Lexington Avenues)

PROGRAM 

Philip Glass: String Quartet No. 3, “Mishima” 
Michael Nyman: String Quartet No. 2, Mvt. II 
Ennio Morricone: Gabriel’s Oboe from The Mission, for string quartet 
Nico Muhly: Selections from The Reader 
Jóhann Jóhannsson: Film and Chamber Music Selections 
Clarice Jensen: Film and Chamber Music Selections

Tickets are $35, available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu

American Contemporary Music Ensemble is:

Clarice Jensen, cello & artistic director
Ben Russell, violin
Laura Lutzke, violin
Kal Sugatski, viola
Claire Bryant, cello
Grey Mcmurray, guitar
Daniel Neumann, sound engineer

New recording of Bach’s cello suites by Inbal Megiddo

View with Images

Cellist Inbal Megiddo's new recording of Bach's Cello Suites

New Zealand-based musician's new album is released on Atoll Records on October 17

 "[Inbal Megiddo is] an extremely talented, very musical musician." 
– Zubin Mehta

The cellist Inbal Megiddo explores the multitude of expressions in each of the six cello suites by J.S. Bach. Her new recording of the complete set will be released on Atoll Records (ACD233) on October 17, 2025. 

Though much has been written about the cello suites, Megiddo highlights the genius of Bach’s implied polyphony in her liner notes. “Through carefully crafted arpeggios, strategic placement of notes, and clever voice-leading, Bach creates the illusion that the listener is hearing multiple instruments.” She also writes that the Suites are, to her, a lifetime. “Like life itself, the Suites reveal new facets with each return, changing as we change, growing as we go. In this way, they become not just music to perform but companions on life’s path.” 

In addition to her passion for the music of JS Bach, Megiddo works to promote and perform the music of suppressed composers, helping to give a voice to women and minority musicians. In 2026, she releases two more recordings on the Atoll label: Works by Clara Schumann, and an album of Forbidden Composers, musicians silenced by the Nazis. 

Megiddo has performed in the great concert halls of the world, including the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center. She was a protégé of renowned cellist Aldo Parisot at Yale University, where she received her graduate and undergraduate degrees, and was mentored by Mstislav Rostropovich. Dr. Megiddo is a founding member of the Wellington, New Zealand-based Te Kōki Trio, and has held the position of principal cellist of the West Eastern Divan Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim. 

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

Cassatt String Quartet releases "Toward Light" October 17

Cassatt String Quartet's new recording "Toward Light" to be released on October 17 on New Focus Recordings

Three quintets by longtime collaborator Daniel Strong Godfrey feature Cassatts with pianist Ursula Oppens, guitarist Eliot Fisk, and cellist Nicole Johnson

New release comes on the heels of the quartet's 40th anniversary celebrations, adding to their extensive discography of over 30 albums

The Cassatt String Quartet continues its 40th anniversary year with the release of "Toward Light," (rel. October 17, 2025 on New Focus Records). Three quintets by Daniel Strong Godfrey reflect on the long association between composer and the Cassatts, with guest performers Ursula Oppens (piano), Eliot Fisk (guitar), and Nicole Johnson (cello).

"It's been a delight to work with the Cassatt String Quartet over nearly four decades. Their supreme ability and versatility bring out the best in my compositions. It's a pleasure to have these works recorded, two of which were commissioned by the quartet," says Godfrey. Cassatt violinist Muneko Otani says "We have been so fortunate to have Daniel as our friend and artistic partner since our early days an ensemble. He really understands us, and the works on this album reflect that."

Godfrey has earned awards and commissions from the J. S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Fromm Music Foundation, and many others. He's also the founder and co-director of the Seal Bay Festival of American Chamber Music on the coast of Maine, where the Cassatt String Quartet is a long-time ensemble in residence.

The two pieces commissioned by the Cassatts were written nearly 20 years apart. Ricordanza-Speranza was written for the quartet's 20th anniversary in 2006, and reflects an intense period of looking back ("ricordanza") and also looking ahead to the future with hope ("speranza"). Toward Light was written in 2023, and similarly shares the sense of looking toward the future with fear, exasperation, and tenuous optimism. The final work on the album, To Mourn, To Dance (2013) was written to feature Vermeer Quartet cellist Marc Johnson and his daughter Nicole, who is also a cellist. Father and daughter performed together at the premiere, but Mr. Johnson passed away soon thereafter. Nicole Johnson is featured on this recording, which is dedicated to her father’s memory.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording

Key Pianists to present Alexander Kobrin at Carnegie

Key Pianists Concert Series marks 10 years of presenting top recitalists at Carnegie Hall

2025-26 season begins with Cliburn Gold Medal winner Alexander Kobrin

November 6 concert features Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana and music by Haydn and Schubert

Presented by Key Pianists Concert Series

Since 2015, the Key Pianists Concert Series has brought some of the world’s most renowned recitalists to the stage at Carnegie Hall. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the series launches its season with Alexander Kobrin on November 6. Kobrin, who won the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn Competition in 2005, performs music by Haydn, Schubert and Robert Schumann. 

“I am thrilled to present Alexander Kobrin,” said Key Pianists founder Terry Eder. “He's emblematic of the gold standard of our concert series.” 

Since winning the gold medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Kobrin's star has been on a meteoric rise. He's performed with orchestras from the New York Philharmonic to the Russian National Orchestra, played recitals around the world and recorded over a half dozen critically acclaimed albums. His program features Robert Schumann's evocative Kreisleriana, the Four Impromptus op. 90 by Franz Schubert, Variations in F minor by Haydn and the beloved Arabesque by Schumann.

The concert on Thursday, November 6, 2025 at 7:30 pm is presented by Key Pianists Concert Series, at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th Street in New York City). Tickets are $51 ($40 + $11 fee) and are available at CarnegieHall.org | 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh Avenue.

Key Pianists Concert Series 10th season continues on February 12, 2026 with a recital by Terry Eder. Tickets available beginning in November.

Out Oct 3: composer Victoria Bond's "Dancing on Glass"

"Dancing on Glass" a new album of chamber music by Victoria Bond to be released October 3 on Albany Records

Album includes performances by acclaimed string players Pauline Kim Harris, Chieh-Fan Yiu, and Coleman Itzkoff and works for two pianos played by Madeline Rogers and Florencia Zuloaga

Title track is released as digital single on September 19

From Ella Fitzgerald's scat singing to mathematics and Chinese folk music, composer Victoria Bond can take inspiration from just about anything. These disparate sources and more are incorporated into the three works on her forthcoming album of chamber music "Dancing on Glass," released October 3, 2025 on Albany Records (TROY2007).

Acclaimed string players Pauline Kim Harris (violin), Chieh-Fan Yiu (viola), and Coleman Itzkoff (cello), are featured on the title track, which will be released digitally on September 19. Dancing on Glass is based on a Chinese folk song, Liu Yang River, and the title comes from the dancing reflection of light on the waterfront.

The album also features a couple works for two pianos performed by Madeline Rogers and Florencia Zuloaga. Binary is Bond's exploration on how 0 and 1 could be applied to music. "In mathematics and computer science the binary numeral system has had profound implications on our society," says the composer. "As early as 1703, the mathematician Gottfried Leibniz believed that binary numbers represented the mystical 'creatio ex nihilo' or creation out of nothing." Throughout the two movement work, Bond plays with this idea in rhythm, melody, and texture. The other work performed by Rogers and Zuloaga, Black Light, was originally written as a piano concerto, premiered by long-time Bond collaborator Paul Barnes. This is the world premiere recording of the version for two pianos. The second movement takes inspiration from Jewish liturgical music and the finale is inspired by the scat singing of Ella Fitzgerald.  

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

Out now: Rediscovered music by Christoph Graupner

Musicians of the Old Post Road release "Into the Light" on September 26

Album features world premiere recordings of rediscovered chamber music by Christoph Graupner on historical instruments

Plus music by Georg Telemann, Johann Fasch, and Ernest Louis

The Boston-based chamber ensemble Musicians of the Old Post Road specialize in the period instrument performance of dynamic and diverse music from the Baroque to early Romantic eras. On Friday, September 26, 2025, they release an album of recently rediscovered music by German composer Christoph Graupner (1683-1760). The album includes world premiere recordings as well as selections by Graupner's close associates Johann Friedrich Fasch, Georg Philipp Telemann, and Graupner's patron Count Ernest Louis. "Into the Light: Rediscovered Chamber Music of Christoph Graupner and others" is released on OPR Recordings (OPR001). The recording is the winner of the Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society.

Graupner spent the majority of his long career as Kapellmeister at the Darmstadt court where he wrote over 2,000 compositions. He was also a friend of Telemann, and shared a deep admiration for his music. Due to his strong reputation as a composer, many aspiring students came to Darmstadt to study with Graupner, including Johann Friedrich Fasch.

"Despite earning the respect of his German contemporaries Bach, Telemann, and Handel, Graupner's music was unfortunately largely forgotten after his death. He has just started to have a revival in the past two decades" said Musicians of the Old Post Road Co-Artistic Director and cellist Daniel Ryan. "As a chamber ensemble whose mission it is to program rediscovered and forgotten works, it was a delight to dive into Graupner's rich oeuvre and bring these rediscovered works to music lovers everywhere," added OPR Co-Artistic Director and flutist Suzanne Stumpf.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

Insider Interview with Cellist Louise Dubin

The cellist Louise Dubin is a renowned performer and researcher of cellist-composer Auguste Franchomme (1808-1884). Her new album Passages, out September 5, 2025 on Bridge Records, features world premiere recordings of works by Chopin and Franchomme alongside compositions by Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré, Francis Poulenc, Charles Koechlin and Philippe Hersant. We spoke to her about Franchomme, his association with Chopin, the new album, and more.

Your first album, The Franchomme Project, has ten world premiere recordings of works by Auguste Franchomme, a composer I’d never heard of before.  How did you first learn of him? What made you want to know more, and how did this first recording project come about?

The idea to record The Franchomme Project began when I gave a lecture recital to defend my doctoral dissertation at Indiana University.  I’d picked Franchomme as my topic after hearing Anner Bylssma’s beautiful recording of some of his nocturnes.  I wanted to see if he’d written other great pieces for the cello. Eventually I found many! It was hard to find information about Franchomme at first, though.  I found one little book written about his connections to Chopin, but it was in Polish, and the computer program I used to translate it did a miserable job.  So I tried to contact the author, Sophie Ruhlmann, to see if she could send me her book in French or English. She turned out to be hard to find too, but in a last ditch attempt I sent a letter to what I hoped might be her snail mail address in France.  She responded by email, saying she’d send me the version of the book written in her native language, French!  When I came to France, on the two research grants from IU, she introduced me to about a dozen of his direct descendants, who showed me their collections, including Franchomme’s personal music library, his practice cello, and unpublished letters and photos. His letters make him very relatable.  For example, he writes in an early letter how tired he was after a day of private cello lessons, chamber music reading with patrons and then an opera performance at night.   I found even more goodies at the BnF (National Library of France) when I went back this spring after my concert in Paris, and I’m transcribing one now to play on our concert on October 25th! The descendants are very enthusiastic to have the music of their ancestor’s music recorded and re-introduced to the world, after being out of print and forgotten for 2 centuries, and I’m happily accepting the task!  At this point I’ve probably collected enough materials for a lifetime of projects.

What was Franchomme’s association with Frederic Chopin? 

He was a good friend of Chopin; they met in Paris when Franchomme was 24 and Chopin was 22, at a small dinner party Liszt threw for the pianist Heller.  Chopin invited Franchomme back to his apartment afterwards, and Franchomme agreed on condition that Chopin play piano, which he agreed to, and they became fast friends.  They wrote a piece together shortly after that on themes of Robert le Diable (the opera by Meyerbeer), and Franchomme soon made suggestions for a piece Chopin had already written: his Introduction and Polonaise Brillante for cello and piano, and Chopin incorporated these into his French edition of the piece.  I recorded the premiere of this version on The Franchomme Project.   Later, Franchomme would play Chopin’s last work, the cello sonata, privately with him before it was published.  Franchomme transcribed many of Chopin’s piano pieces for cello, to Chopin’s delight and approval, and his own compositions and even his fingerings bear Chopin’s influence. After Chopin’s death, he compiled several editions of Chopin’s works, including some unpublished pieces, and transcribed even more of them for cello, including the Etude included on Passages.

Your new album, Passages (Bridge Records, released September 5, 2025), also features French cello works— but this time spans 3 centuries and includes works from our present time.  How did you go about selecting the repertoire for this album?

I wanted to record some other favorite works that I’ve performed recently, particularly the ones that people don’t hear very often.  The Koechlin sonata was a piece I first performed at the Beauvais International Cello Festival; the director asked me to bring an unknown French cello sonata, and this was my choice.  Like the Debussy sonata, which we also include on Passages, it was written during WW I, but the two are very different! Debussy’s language is concise, sometimes sardonic, with typical classical phrase lengths, very clean and energetic, constantly turning on a dime to a new tempo or a new character.  Koechlin was inspired by Zen philosophy, nature (especially light and water), Gregorian chant and other modal music.  Like Franchomme, he earned his keep in many ways: orchestrator (of works by Debussy and Fauré among others), teacher (of Poulenc, Cole Porter and many others), radio announcer, composer… This cello sonata hasn’t been recorded often, maybe because it’s a complex piece to put together with the pianist.  Spencer Myer ate it up and did a terrific job! The first movement is unhurried and reassuring, and meter is quite incidental.  There are multiple instructions throughout the piece to play very evenly without accent, and one bar lasts 24 beats! For us, the second movement is an exploration of grief.  It has quintuplets against 2, 3, and 4 beats, and this rhythmic complexity, combined with dissonances, build up to climaxes of cathartic relief.  The movement ends in an exhausted, quiet peace.  And then a cheerful chant or maybe folk tune is the basis of the last movement.  This sonata is an incredible work, very satisfying to play.

I’m grateful to have recorded the cello duos on this album with Julia Bruskin, a fabulous cellist who’s also featured on The Franchomme Project. We love Hersant’s Caprices – they are like little poems, modelled after Bartok’s violin duos, and some have a similar hint of folk music.  But these duos are more dramatic in their emotion than Bartok’s, and more rhythmically complex.  We’ll play 7 of them at the Passages release concert on October 25th in Manhattan.  The Fauré duo is unpublished, and was first recorded by Steven Isserlis, and our recording is the second.  I met Steven when I was his student at Prussia Cove, and we’ve remained friends—and he kindly sent me a transcription of the manuscript. I’ve also sent him music, including a Franchomme Nocturne, which he recorded.  This duo was a sightreading test Fauré wrote for cellists at the Paris Conservatoire, which he composed when they first hired him.  

And you also included some Franchomme works?

Yes! Since it’s a survey of French cello music from the early 1800s to today, I included three more Franchomme pieces, including his gorgeous transcription of Chopin’s cello etude, all recorded here for the first time ever.

Can you tell us a bit about your efforts to get Franchomme’s compositions back in print?

Sure! I have a few balls in the air right now, but one that’s completed is my book for Dover. They commissioned me to put together a compilation of Franchomme’s cello-piano works and write the introduction.  The works are reproduced from first editions, which include Franchomme’s fingerings and bowings—very distinctively his, and definitely not the kind of fingerings I was taught by my teachers! Lots of slides, up and down, very long slurs of many notes, lots of use of the thumb including on long notes, which means they were not heavily vibrated.  He clearly had a virtuosic thumb position but according to contemporary reviews, he wasn’t a flashy player; he had an easy facility, played with honesty, sincerity and good taste— all things I aspire to do!  The book includes many of the pieces I recorded on The Franchomme Project, as well as the Air Irlandais Variations and the Chopin transcription from this Passages album.  I’m also working on a new article for the NIFC in Warsaw. Over the years I’ve transcribed several unpublished manuscripts of Franchomme’s, including the cello quartets we were the first to ever record, and now I’m completing a new transcription for our New York City concert on October 25th!

What projects are coming up next for you? 

 My next projects are our release concerts in New York: October 25th in Manhattan and October 26th in Tuckahoe, with Julia Bruskin, John Novacek and Philippe Muller.  We’re playing works from both albums, and my new Franchomme transcription. This fall, I’m also recording a completely unknown, really good Romantic cello sonata with John Novacek, which I’m excited about but can’t talk about until it’s done! 

How can people find out more about you, your albums, and other projects?

The best place is www.louise-dubin.com!

Music by Franchomme, Chopin and more

View with Images

Cellist Louise Dubin's new recording Passages released September 5, 2025 on Bridge Records

Featuring world premiere recordings of works by Auguste Franchomme and music by Debussy, Chopin, Fauré and more

Passages is a collection of French cello music spanning three centuries

With cellist Julia Bruskin and pianist Spencer Meyer

The cellist Louise Dubin is a renowned performer and researcher of cellist-composer Auguste Franchomme (1808-1884). Her new album Passages features world premiere recordings of works by Chopin and Franchomme alongside compositions by Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré, Francis Poulenc, Charles Koechlin and Philippe Hersant. Dubin is joined by cellist Julia Bruskin and pianist Spencer Meyer on the album, which is released September 5, 2025 on Bridge Records (BRIDGE 9597).

Passages follows the release of Dubin's critically-acclaimed recording The Franchomme Project (Delos, 2015), which Strings Magazine called a “rare musical treat that unfolds with radiant energy,” and her publication Selected Works for Cello and Piano by Auguste Franchomme (Dover Publications, 2017).

Passages features the world premiere recordings of Franchomme's Nocturne, Op. 14/2 and Air Irlandais, Variè, Op. 25/3. The album also includes a Franchomme’s arrangement of Chopin's Étude, Op. 25/7 and a recently-discovered cello duo by Gabriel Fauré and Caprices for Two Cellos by Philippe Hersant (b. 1948), both performed with Julia Bruskin. The pianist Spencer Myer joins Dubin for sonatas by Claude Debussy and Charles Koechlin (Francis Poulenc's mentor) and the Sérénade by Poulenc.

The recording is produced by Steven Epstein and engineered by Epstein and Judith Sherman, both multiple Grammy-award winners.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

Insider Interview with composer Christopher Jessup

Christopher Jessup is an award-winning composer and pianist whose music has been hailed as “lovely” (The New York Times), “imaginative” (Fanfare), and “ethereal” (Textura). With a catalogue spanning orchestral, chamber, choral, and solo works, Jessup revels in capturing a wide range of emotions in his music, especially in miniature form. 

We spoke with Jessup about his earliest experiences with music, his work with the London Symphony and The Crossing, and what he does in his spare time. 

Tell us about your first experiences with music as a child. 

My first experiences with music as a child began with a tiny toy piano. It had only five keys and I played it so much that most of them broke! When I started going to school, I would get there early to practice and improvise on the piano because I didn’t yet have one of my own. I learned to play by ear long before being able to read music. Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington were major early influences for me—surprisingly, jazz was my first love. “Take the A Train” by Duke Ellington, which I taught myself to play, was one of my favorite pieces. 

You are equally accomplished as a composer and a pianist. How does your work as a pianist inform your creativity as a composer, and vice versa? 

Being a pianist heavily influences my work as a composer and can be hugely beneficial when I write. At the same time, I try to break away from writing from the perspective of a pianist so that I can be mindful of playability for other instruments. That can be challenging at times. Certain types of passages that might be easy for a pianist to play in a fast tempo can be extremely difficult or even unplayable for another instrument, like the cello for instance. Ultimately, when I compose, I want to make sure I am bringing out the best in each instrument and allowing the instruments to shine in their own unique way. 

You mention in your bio that you are especially interested in miniature forms of composition. What is it that attracts you to this short form? Can you give a recent example or two?  

I first became interested in writing miniatures after being introduced to Schoenberg’s "Sechs kleine Klavierstücke” in 2016. I was fascinated by how Schoenberg is able to capture an immense amount of emotion and expression in such brief little pieces and with so few notes. The first collection of miniatures I wrote was Cinq États d’Esprit (Five States of Mind) for solo piano. I went on to compose numerous other collections of short miniatures, including Phases for flute, cello, and piano (based on the five natural elements) and my Suite for Viola and Piano. I believe that music does not have to be long in order to be meaningful. In fact, some of the most poignant pieces are incredibly short. A well-crafted miniature can have more of an impact than a 30-minute requiem. 

Your music has been performed and/or recorded by a number of notable ensembles, including the London Symphony Orchestra and Grammy Award-winning choir The Crossing. Tell us some highlights about working with these ensembles. 

Working with the London Symphony Orchestra and The Crossing has been amazing. Having my music accepted and recorded by these esteemed ensembles is an incredible honor. In the LSO’s recording of Svítání, a tone poem for orchestra, the orchestra’s musicianship was breathtaking and their execution of the piece was flawless. The Crossing and Donald Nally recorded Astronomia, which is one of my most difficult pieces. They sang it with complete ease and agility, producing a truly marvelous result. The opportunity to collaborate with these ensembles is a deeply enriching and validating experience for me as a composer. I’ve learned and grown in remarkable ways each time I work with them, and that inspires me to continue to compose.  

Tell us about the compositions that you are currently working on. 

I recently completed a piano trio called Impetus, which was premiered in Los Angeles in August 2025 at the Impulse New Music Festival. I am working on a piece for flutist Lindsey Goodman and pianist Clare Longendyke, which they commissioned. That will be performed in the 2026-27 season.  

On the horizon, I am outlining a new multi-movement choral work with a mental health theme. Mental health is widely misunderstood and stigmatized in our society, and I believe it is my duty as an artist to address topics that are uncomfortable to talk about, and by doing so we can have a big impact. That is what I plan to do with this piece. 

What do you enjoy doing when you are not making music? How does it affect or enhance your work? 

When I’m not composing or playing piano, I love to get out in nature, especially on the water. Not only does it calm my nerves and clear my mind, but it also gives me a tremendous amount of inspiration as a composer. Water is very musical—the rise and fall of the tide and the sound of waves crashing all serve as vital inspiration for my compositions. 

Insider Interview with author Edward Klorman

In a new book about Bach’s Cello Suites, award-winning author Edward Klorman dives deep into both the culture and history of the iconic works. Bach: The Cello Suites is published by Cambridge University Press on September 1, 2025. In this insider interview, we spoke with Klorman about the surprising history of the suites, the challenges of writing for a diverse range of readers who might end up reading the forthcoming book, and one thing he wishes he could have left in the book.

What made you so curious about Bach’s Cello Suites that you wanted to write a book?

A century ago, the Cello Suites were not very widely known. But now, you hear them all the time, not only in concerts, but also in films, on Netflix series, pop covers, in subway stations—you name it! I was curious how this music went from being so obscure to so ubiquitous and iconic, and I was eager to tell that story.

There are so many questions about them that resist straightforward answers. For instance, at which point in his career did he compose them? Did he write them for (or with) a particular cellist? Was Bach familiar with any other solo-cello music that may have inspired him? I wanted to try to get to the bottom of these questions as much as possible. 

You are a violist. What was your experience with these suites for cello over the years?

Like many violists, I began on violin taking Suzuki lessons. The Suzuki violin books include four movements transcribed from the Cello Suites, so my first exposure to this music would have been in elementary school. But once I switched to viola in high school, I began learning one suite every year. The viola is tuned just like the cello, only an octave higher, so the suites adapt very well for the viola. In recent years, I’ve been lucky to play on a beautiful baroque viola with gut strings and a period-style bow, so it’s been an interesting challenge to relearn the suites in a different style.

According to his son C. P. E. Bach, J. S. Bach loved to play the viola, so sometimes we violists like to imagine that he might have used a viola to compose or perform the cello suites—but that is just conjecture!

What were some of the biggest challenges to writing the book?

A big challenge was writing for the diverse range of the readers. 

This book is part of the New Cambridge Music Handbooks series. Each book explores a single piece for many kinds of readers, ranging from musicians and musicologists to musical audiences of all stripes. I try to keep the writing light and engaging for casual readers looking for an all-around guide to this wonderful music.

Then for cellists and cello teachers who played this music for decades, I provide detailed explanations of some thorny questions, like how do we know we are playing the notes, ornaments, and articulations Bach intended. (The answer is, it’s sometimes very difficult to know!) For these readers, I explain what evidence points me to various conclusions. By “showing my work,” I hope readers will come to feel that they can trust me and that they are welcome to re-evaluate sources to come to their own conclusions.

What's the one of the most surprising things you learned from the process?

Let’s start with the question, “what is a cello”? During Bach’s lifetime, instruments called “violoncello” came in many sizes and formats, some with more than four strings. Some were even held at the chest or shoulder, with the support of a strap. Many cellists in Bach’s orbit would have used an underhand bow hold, which is very different from the overhand hold used today.

It’s impossible to know precisely which kind of instrument or playing style Bach might have had in mind (or if he even had a specific approach in mind). In the book, I tell the story of musicians beginning to rediscover the Cello Suites starting around the 1860s. As I researched their performance history, I’m struck how musicians have constantly reinvented new ways they can sound and different ideas for approaching them. For instance, many nineteenth-century musicians added piano accompaniment to “update” Bach’s music to suite their audience’s tastes!

Were there any tidbits that did not make it into the final manuscript that you’d like to share? 

There’s a very evocative description of a solo dancer dancing a sarabande that was published in a 1671 French–Latin dictionary by the Jesuit scholar François Pomey. It has been cited a lot because it’s such an uncommonly rich account, describing the dancer’s dramatic facial expressions, gestures, and so on. But in the course of my research, I learned that the musicologist Rose A. Pruiksma has discovered that this description was not based on an actual dancer witnessed by Pomey. Rather, it was plagiarized from a 1661 French novel by George de Scudéry.

Then there is the whole “controversy” about the claim that the Cello Suites were composed by J. S. Bach’s second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach, who was the scribe of an important manuscript copy of both the Cello Suites and the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin. That claim got a lot of attention about a decade ago, but it’s been thoroughly debunked. Sometimes when you can run the risk of the so-called “boomerang effect, where fact checking a conspiracy theory can perversely have the effect of further spreading the conspiracy. So I left that out of the book and put my energy instead into highlighting the important roles many women have played in the history of the Cello Suites—as performers, transcribers, and teachers, just not as the composer!

Gail Wein featured in new book

A new book features Classical Music Communications founder Gail Wein. The Savvy Musician 2.0 by David Cutler (Oxford University Press, 2025) guides musicians to build careers, lead organizations, found ventures, strengthen viability, and make a difference. Industry challenges are highlighted, but not dwelled upon. Instead, these pages burst with flexible, actionable success strategies that address a comprehensive collection of issues for professionals of all stripes. And one of the chapters features contributions from Gail!

Details available at Oxford University Press, copies available for purchase online here.

Village Trip 2025 Classical Programs (complete festival detail)

View with Images

The Village Trip festival celebrates culture and history in NYC’s iconic Greenwich Village

September 19-28, 2025 the annual festival includes 10 concerts performed by established classical and contemporary musicians and rising stars (full details below)

September 12-14: Pre-festival events

Classical music highlights include world premieres by David Amram, Samuel Adler, and Kyle Miller with performances by ETHEL, Bergamot Quartet, guitarist/composer William Kentner Anderson, Damien Sneed and more

The Village Trip, a massive celebration of culture and art in Greenwich Village, presents its annual festival September 19-28, 2025. Highlights of the classical and contemporary musical offerings include the world premiere of a song cycle by the world-renowned musician David Amram performed by baritone James Martin and the pianist Lynn Raley; the string quartet ETHEL with composer and electric guitarist Kyle Miller premiering two of Miller’s works; a program of music set to words by Greenwich Village poet Djuna Barnes and her circle including ee cumming and James Joyce; a tribute to President Jimmy Carter and his Habitat for Humanity project in the East Village with Damien Sneed and Chorale Le Chateau, and much more. Concert details are below. 

The Village Trip celebrates the culture, community, and rich artistic history of Greenwich Village. It was founded in 2018 with David Amram as Artist-in-Residence and Suzanne Vega headlining a free concert in Washington Square Park. The annual festival features a wide variety of events for locals and visitors alike. 

In addition to classical performances, The Village Trip’s 2025 season features a lecture delivered by New York Times journalist and author Clay Risen; the Freedomland! Art show; guided walking tours; and a cross-genre concert at City Winery called “Bernstein Remix!” curated by Leonard Bernstein’s daughter Jamie.

Details and updates at TheVillageTrip.com and below. 

The Village Trip 2025 Classical Programs

The Village Trip Pre-Festival events at Loft393

Featuring a display of work by Village artists Diana Wege, Joelle Shefts, Klay Enos, C Damon Carter, Meyer Kupferman, Corey Hardeman, and Agustin Castilla-Avila

All pre-festival events are at Loft393 (393 Broadway, 2nd Fl, Tribeca)

Admission is $20

September 12, 7 pm: Stefan Wolpe, Leo Brouwer & Morton Feldman

Performers: Guitarists Daniel Conant and Angel Blanco; The Village Trip Guitar Orchestra

Music by Stefan Wolpe, Morton Feldman, and Leo Brouwer.

September 13, 7 pm: The Darkness is God
Loft393 (393 Broadway, 2nd Fl, Tribeca)

Performers: Bowers/Fader Duo, Olson/De Cari Duo, The Village Trip Guitar Orchestra and guitarist Oren Fader

Music by Stefan Wolpe, Morton Feldman, Leo Brouwer, Bela Bartok, and world premieres by Thomas Flippin and Robert Morris.

September 14, 7 pm: Shift and Riff
Loft393 (393 Broadway, 2nd Fl, Tribeca)

Performers: The Curtis Guitar Quartet; soloists Muxin Li, guitar; William Anderson, mandolin; Joan Forsyth; The Village Trip Guitar Orchestra

Music by Eric Sessler, Mario Davidovsky, Michael Starobin, Stefan Wolpe, plus the premiere of Gary Philo's Prelude and Caprice for mandolin and piano.

*Opening night concert*

September 19, 7 pm: Village Voices:  Baritone James Martin and pianist Lynn Raley
St. John’s in the Village (218 W 11th St, Greenwich Village)

Performers: baritone James Martin and pianist Lynn Raley, whom the New York Times praised for their "powerful performances," with cellist Michael Cameron, pianist Maria Thompson Corley, and more

“Village Voices” tells powerful stories of our everyday lives. Baritone James Martin with instrumentalists Lynn Raley, William Kentner Anderson and Michael Cameron perform songs by Village artists, including premieres by Maria Thompson Corley, Carman Moore, and the legendary David Amram.

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 20, 2 pm: Classical Cool! Kids Concert hosted by Nina Bernstein Simmons
St. John’s in the Village (218 W 11th St, Greenwich Village)

Classical Cool! celebrates the legacy of Leonard Bernstein and the 150th Anniversary of the Music Teachers National Association in this nod to the legendary conductor’s “Young Peoples Concerts.” Bernstein's daughter Nina will narrate a children’s favorite, Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals” with the Going the Distance Players conducted by Victoria Bond and a roster of MTNA’s leading pianists.

Part of The Village Trip’s Leonard Bernstein Weekend.

Cost: $25 ($20 students/seniors) | $35 family ticket for four (max two adults)

September 21, 3 pm: Looking East
Balinese Gamelan Yowana Sari & Friends
Portico outside St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (2nd Ave and E 10 St)

The Balinese gamelan ensemble Gamelan Yowana Sari performs with guitarists Kyle Miller and Jack Lynch.

Music by Michael Gordon, Evan Ziporyn, Kyle Miller, Vivian Fung and I Gusde Widnyana.

Cost: Free

September 21, 4:30 pm: Habitat East Village with Damien Sneed and Friends
A Tribute to President Jimmy Carter

St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (2nd Ave and E 10 St)

Award-winning multi-genre musician Damien Sneed leads his Chorale Le Chateau and jazz ensemble in this homage to President Jimmy Carter and his work for Habitat for Humanity in the East Village. Carter's White House welcomed musicians of every ilk and genre, folk, gospel and jazz, were welcomed. It was truly "the people's house.'

Program includes music by Bach, Leonard Bernstein, Dizzy Gillespie, and gospel favorites including Amazing Grace, performed by Damien Sneed leading Chorale Le Chateau and a jazz ensemble; David Fulmer, violin; Joan Forsyth, piano; Sharon Harms, soprano; and others. 

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 24, 7 pm: Poets of Patchin Place
New music set to texts by Greenwich Village poets and friends

Co-presented by Cutting Edge Concerts in cooperation with The Coffee House Club at the Salmagundi Club
Salmagundi Club (47 5th Ave, New York, NY)

A program of songs celebrating the acclaimed poet, and Greenwich Village resident Djuna Barnes and her circle of friends ee cummings and James Joyce. With settings of James Baldwin commissioned for the Baldwin Centenary.

Music by William Kentner Anderson, Victoria Bond, Laura Schwendinger, and Nehemiah Luckett performed by baritones Michael Kelly and Nehemiah Luckett, sopranos Zoe Allen and Sharon Harms, and pianists John Arida, Joan Forsyth, and Christopher Allen.

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 26, 7 pm: Poetica Musica "Inspired by the Village"
St. John’s in the Village (218 W 11th St, Greenwich Village)

The New York-based chamber music group Poetica Musica performs works inspired by Greenwich Village culture.

Performers include Oren Fader and William Kentner Anderson, guitars; Barry Crawford, flute; Molly Morkoski, piano; and Eleanor Valkenburg, soprano.

Music by Ives, Bartok, Piazzolla, Gershwin and Anderson.

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 26 and 27, 7:15 pm: ETHEL at the Met Mezzanine
Mezzanine Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 5th Ave, New York, NY)

The string quartet ETHEL with guitarist Kyle Miller give a preview performance of Miller’s newly commissioned works for electric guitar and string quartet. Program also includes music by Philip Glass, Marcelo Zarvos, Ennio Morricone and members of ETHEL.

Cost: Free with Met Museum admission

September 27, 7:30 pm: Bergamot Quartet
St. John’s in the Village (218 W 11th St, Greenwich Village)

Bergamot Quartet performs world premieres by Samuel Adler, Louis Karchin, and Eli Greenhoe. The virtuosic yangqin player Cheng Jin Koh joins the quartet for a performance of her work Mountain of Echoing Halls.

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 28, 3 pm: ETHEL with electric guitarist Kyle Miller
St. John’s in the Village (218 W 11th St, Greenwich Village)

Acclaimed guitarist-composer Kyle Miller joins celebrated string quartet ETHEL for a program featuring two world premieres by Miller and works by Philip Glass, Marcelo Zarvos, Phil Kline, Fred Hersch, David Lang, plus Tin Pan Alley favorites.

Cost: $30 ($25 students/seniors)

September 28, 5 pm: Composers Concordance: Ciabatta Cantata
St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (2nd Ave and E 10 St)

Composers Concordance and friends explore themes of food and politics in new music for chorus, guitar and theorbo. The program includes music by Gene Pritsker, Dan Cooper, and William Anderson. Enjoy fresh ciabatta from the Grandaisy Bakery during the performance.

Cost: $20 ($30 at the door)