The Knights at Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park

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The Naumburg Orchestral Concerts presents The Knights and violinist Tessa Lark on June 23

Program celebrates America's 250th anniversary showcasing the power and beauty of American music

Highlights include NY premiere of Lisa Bielawa's violin concerto PULSE and Caroline Shaw's "The Mountain That Loved a Bird" narrated by Jamie Bernstein

On Tuesday, June 23 at 7:30 pm, Naumburg Orchestral Concerts continues its 2026 season with The Knights and violinist Tessa Lark at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park (mid-park at 72nd St.). The concert is free and will be broadcast live and streamed on WQXR.

The program features the NY premiere of Lisa Bielawa's violin concerto PULSE with Naumburg Competition winner and Grammy-nominated soloist Tessa Lark. The work weaves hymns and fiddle tunes into a bold, modern concerto. Other program highlights include Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings," Christina Courtin's "rhapsody on being giant proof" - part of The Knights' multi-year Rhapsody commissioning project, inspired by the centennial of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue - and Caroline Shaw's "The Mountain That Loved a Bird," narrated by Jamie Bernstein.

The concert is part of the The Knights' "This Music is Your Music: America at 250" celebration, showcasing the multifaceted potential and power of American music—rooted in history, alive in the present, shaped by many voices, and brimming with possibility.

The season continues on July 7 with the NYC debut of LA's Delirium Musicum directed by violinist Etienne Gara. The program features music by Saint-Saëns, Gabriella Smith, Richter, Schubert, and more.

Concerts at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park continue through August 4. Performers include Orchestra of St. Luke's with mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner, and Nosky's Baroque Band with trumpet soloist Steve Marquardt. Full program details are below. Digital press kit available here.

Pianist Inna Faliks: "Stranger Things" out July 24

Pianist Inna Faliks' new album "Stranger Things" is released on July 24, 2026 on Navona Records

Recording features Brahms' monumental Third Piano Sonata alongside Elegy by Wagner and Schoenberg's Three Pieces, Op. 11

Album also includes two compositions by Faliks

Pianist Inna Faliks has recorded one of her most personal projects yet. "Stranger Things" is released on Navona Records on July 24, 2026. The album features music by Brahms, Schoenberg, Wagner, and two short works written by Faliks herself.

Anchoring the album is Brahms' monumental Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, which the pianist says is a lifetime piece for her. “It is both a masterful, architecturally elegant paean to Beethoven and the Sonata form, and an entirely unabashed Romantic outpouring in five movements," says Faliks.

The album also features Schoenberg's Three Pieces, Op. 11, Wagner's brief Elegy ("a farewell to tonality"), and two works that the composer-pianist wrote as she was emigrating from the Ukraine as a Jewish refugee. "I was always a little sad that composition took a back seat to my piano playing. Instead, I focused on other creative interdisciplinary projects, new music by others, and writing. I recently took out these old piano pieces, edited them, and began playing them."

One of the works written by Faliks, Wandering Stranger, includes sections in which the pianist uses her voice, a parallel to Schoenberg’s choice to add a soprano part to his String Quartet No. 2. Faliks writes: "I don't remember why I decided to include a vocal part in this work. Perhaps I couldn’t find a better way to communicate the strangeness of leaving my home for good."

Together, the works on "Stranger Things" reflect the musical forces that have shaped Faliks' artistic voice. The album follows her critically acclaimed book "Weight in the Fingertips: A Musical Odyssey from Soviet Ukraine to the World Stage" (Bloomsbury, 2023) and her album "Manuscripts Don’t Burn" (2024).

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD of "Stranger Things" by pianist Inna Faliks. Links to the digital album are below.

Tuesday: Simone Dinnerstein and Barokyn at Naumburg Bandshell

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The Naumburg Orchestral Concerts begins season on Tuesday, June 9

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein, her string ensemble Baroklyn, and CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) perform music by J.S Bach and Philip Glass

The world's oldest continuous free outdoor classical concert series continues on June 23 with The Knights performing a program to celebrate America 250

On Tuesday, June 9 at 7:30 pm, Naumburg Orchestral Concerts kicks off its 2026 season with the GRAMMY®-nominated pianist Simone Dinnerstein, Baroklyn (the string ensemble she founded and directs) and CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) at Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park (mid-park at 72nd St.). The concert is free and will be broadcast live and streamed on WQXR.

The program features music by Philip Glass and J.S. Bach - two composers whose music Dinnerstein sees a natural affinity between. The pianist says, “Glass’s music is multi-linear in a way that evokes the music of Bach. It is music on the horizontal, as opposed to the vertical. If anything, it is circular music.”

For the concert, Dinnerstein leads the artists from the piano for performances of Glass's "The Hours" and a recomposition by Philip Lasser of Bach’s Air on the G String, and conducts Bach's Cantata No. 9 "Es ist das Heil uns Kommen her" alongside selections from three other cantatas by Bach with Connecticut Choral Artists (CONCORA).

The season continues on June 23 with The Knights chamber orchestra performing a program in honor of America's 250th anniversary that features the NY premiere of Lisa Bielawa's Violin Concerto PULSE with Tessa Lark.

Concerts at the bandshell continue throughout the summer, every other Tuesday, through August 4. Performers include Delirium Musicum, Orchestra of St. Luke's with mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner, and Nosky's Baroque Band with trumpet soloist Steve Marquardt. Full program details are below. Digital press kit available here.

June 9: Simone Dinnerstein and Baroklyn at Naumburg

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The Naumburg Orchestral Concerts begins season on June 9

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein, her string ensemble Baroklyn, and CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) perform music by J.S Bach and Philip Glass

The world's oldest continuous free outdoor classical concert series features five concerts June 9 – August 4, 2026

On Tuesday, June 9 at 7:30 pm, Naumburg Orchestral Concerts kicks off its 2026 season with the GRAMMY®-nominated pianist Simone Dinnerstein, Baroklyn (the string ensemble she founded and directs) and CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) at Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park (mid-park at 72nd St.). The concert is free and will be broadcast live and streamed on WQXR.

The program features music by Philip Glass and J.S. Bach - two composers whose music Dinnerstein sees a natural affinity between. The pianist says, “Glass’s music is multi-linear in a way that evokes the music of Bach. It is music on the horizontal, as opposed to the vertical. If anything, it is circular music.”

For the concert, Dinnerstein leads the artists from the piano for performances of Glass's "The Hours" and a recomposition by Philip Lasser of Bach’s Air on the G String, and conducts Bach's Cantata No. 9 "Es ist das Heil uns Kommen her" alongside selections from three other cantatas by Bach with Connecticut Choral Artists (CONCORA).

Launched in 1905, the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts is the world's oldest continuous free outdoor classical concert series. The season continues with The Knights on June 23, Delirium Musicum (making their NYC debut!) on July 7, followed by Orchestra of St. Luke's on July 21, and concludes on August 4 with Nosky's Baroque Band. Full program details are below. Digital press kit available here.

Fanny Mendelssohn's complete solo piano works

Pianist Ana-Marija Markovina: "Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Complete Solo Piano Works Vol. 1"

The first of two volumes on Hänssler Classic is released May 15, 2026 digitally worldwide (physical CDs available in North America on June 19, 2026)

Collection includes dozens of works recorded for the first time

"one of the most outstanding artists of her generation." – Paul Badura-Skoda

Following her critically-acclaimed recording projects of the entire solo piano works of Felix Mendelssohn, CPE Bach, and others, Hänssler Classic releases the first volume of Markovina's "Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Complete Solo Piano Works" (HC2307). The title is available digitally worldwide beginning on May 15, 2026 (physical CDs available in North America June 19, 2026). The four-disc set contains 78 tracks, half of which have never been recorded before.

"Fanny’s universe moves me time and again to a state of reverential awe. Her personal biography contains quite a considerable portion of tragedy precisely because it is not a story of legendary artistic potential but an example of the strictures of the era in which she lived," says Markovina.

Although she was not permitted to either perform in public or publish her works, Mendelssohn Hensel composed more than 250 works, 160 or so for piano. Markovina continues: "These works are a munificent gift that has opened up an entire new universe for me. To have time without any financial worries allowed Fanny a kind of artistic continuity that is rarely found in an artist’s biography. When a composer is not afraid of disappointing their audience and not tempted to water down their ideas in the hope of acclaim, what they compose becomes a true experiment which may lead to who knows where."

Volume One of this collection, presented in chronological order, reveals much of the composer's character: her development from a young girl with her very first pieces full of poetry and at the same time radiating her determination and strength which were later to be the hallmarks of her later compositions.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of "Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Complete Piano Works Vol. 1" by pianist Ana-Marija Markovina.

Naumburg Orchestral Concerts announces 2026 season

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The Naumburg Orchestral Concerts Announces 121st Season at The Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park 

The world's oldest continuous free outdoor classical concert series features five concerts June 9 – August 4, 2026

Simone Dinnerstein, Baroklyn, & CONCORA – June 9

The Knights – June 23

Delirium Musicum - July 7

Orchestra of St. Luke's - July 21

Nosky’s Baroque Band – August 4

2026 season also marks 100th anniversary of Walter W. Naumburg International Competition and features two former winners as featured soloists

Launched in 1905, the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts is the world's oldest continuous free outdoor classical concert series.

This year's edition, the 121st season, runs June 9 through August 4, 2026 with five spectacular programs featuring world-class ensembles and soloists at the historic Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park (mid-park at 72nd St.). Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m., no reservations are needed. All will be broadcast live and streamed on WQXR for those unable to attend in person. Visit naumburgconcerts.org for more information and programs.

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the Walter W. Naumburg International Competition, which has launched countless extraordinary young artists onto the global stage since 1926. To celebrate the occasion, the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts' season features two past winners of the competition as guest soloists.

The season kicks off on June 9 with pianist Simone Dinnerstein and her string ensemble Baroklyn with CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) in a program of music by J.S. Bach and Philip Glass. On June 23, The Knights perform with Naumburg International Violin Competition winner Tessa Lark in a program of 21st century works by Caroline Shaw, Lisa Bielawa, and Christina Courtin alongside Samuel Barber's iconic Adagio for Strings. Delirium Musicum, a chamber orchestra from Los Angeles representing the next wave of classical musicians, makes its Naumburg Orchestral Concert debut on July 7 in a program of music by Schubert, Saint-Saëns, and Satie alongside Max Richter, Philip Glass, and others.

On July 21, the Orchestra of St. Luke's performs an all-Mozart program with mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner (a 2021 Naumburg Vocal Award Winner) led by Brad Lubman. To complete the season, Nosky's Baroque Band, led by violinist Aisslinn Nosky (concertmaster for Handel and Haydn Society), returns to the Bandshell on August 4 for a program of works by Bach, Telemann, and more with baroque trumpet soloist Steve Marquardt.

"When my great-grandfather Elkan Naumburg founded the series over 120 years ago, he wanted to encourage and stimulate the public's interest in symphonic and classical music," says NOC's president Christopher W. London. "It's with great pride that we manage to continue in his tradition, featuring promising new music talent, while also promoting the professional development of young composers and conductors, while also often featuring newly commissioned music."

May 3: clarinetist Han Kim makes Carnegie debut

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Clarinetist Han Kim in recital May 3 at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall

From young prodigy to principal at Opéra national de Paris, recital marks clarinetist's Carnegie debut

Program features music by Brahms, Saint-Saëns, and Bernstein with pianist Sahun Sam Hong

Presented by Korea Mecenat Association and Korea Music Foundation

International award-winning clarinetist Han Kim brings his considerable talents to Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall on May 3 at 5 pm. Along with the acclaimed pianist Sahun Sam Hong, Kim performs a program of clarinet sonatas by Saint-Saëns, Brahms, Poulenc, and Bernstein, alongside Geonyong Lee's "Song in the Dusk."

Appointed by Maestro Gustavo Dudamel in 2023, Kim is the principal clarinetist of the orchestra of the prestigious Opéra national de Paris, working as the first and only Asian Super-soliste in the orchestra's 350-year history. He is also the Second Prize winner at the 2019 ARD International Music Competition in Munich.

Pianist Sahun Sam Hong is a prize-winner of numerous international piano competitions, including the Vendome Prize at Verbier, International Beethoven Competition Vienna, Naumburg International Piano Competition, and 2021 American Pianists Award recipient.

The concert on Sunday, May 3, 2026 at 5 pm is presented by the Korea Mecenat Association and Korea Music Foundation, at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall (Seventh Ave between 56th and 57th Streets in NYC). Tickets start at $71 and are available at CarnegieHall.org, CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh.

In 1984, the Korea Music Foundation (President Kyunghee Kim) was chartered in New York as a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing lives and strengthening communities through the transformative impact of music. Since its inception, KMF has presented numerous solo, orchestra, and chamber ensemble debut concerts in New York, including at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Merkin Hall. KMF has presented artists in concert including David Kim, Catherine Cho, Minsoo Sohn, Sunwoo Yekwon, Hayoung Choi, Daejin Kim, Hera Hyesang Park, and Sungwon Yang. KMF has been working with Korea Mecenat Association, a distinguished group of Korean companies, with the aim to elevate the prominence of K-Classical on a global stage by showcasing exceptional Korean performers in American classical venues.

Music for strings by Eric Chasalow

Composer Eric Chasalow's "...arching, reaching, breathless" out April 17 on New Focus Recordings

New album includes range of compositions for strings spanning 30 years

Performed by The Lydian String Quartet, cellists David Russell and Hannah Collins, violinist Mari Kimura, pianist Steven Beck, and more

Drawing from every corner of the soundworld, composer Eric Chasalow creates genre-defying music. On April 17, 2026, his latest album “...arching, reaching, breathless” is released on New Focus Recordings (FCR468). It's a survey of Chasalow’s works written for strings spanning over 30 years. 

The album features a broad range of ideas and styles which Chasalow has explored in his expansive career as a composer: from spacious and meditative works to ones that are dense and ferocious; works with live electronics, fixed media, and also traditional chamber ensembles.

"I started recording these pieces a few years back without the idea of putting them on a record together at all," says the composer. "But the more I listened to the recordings as a set, the more I felt that, heard together, they tell a story about the broad range of ideas I have explored in my string writing and are even more interesting together. When I listen to the album as a complete set, I hear an expansive journey unfolding, and I find that very satisfying."

The album features some of today's leading contemporary performers including the Lydian String Quartet, violinists Mari Kimura, Clara Lyon, and Julia Glenn, cellists Hannah Collins and David Russell, and pianist Steven Beck.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of "...arching, reaching breathless" by composer Eric Chasalow.

“Muriel’s Songs”: Monodrama of a Brooklyn grandmother

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April 23: New York premiere of Eric Chasalow's "Muriel's Songs" at YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

Monodrama inspired by a grandmother's memoirs traverses the tumult of 20th-Century America through a very personal lens

Performed by mezzo-soprano Sharon Harms and Talea Ensemble

A Jewish American memoir is told through “Muriel’s Songs,” a monodrama by Eric Chasalow, which receives its New York premiere performance on Thursday, April 23, 2026. The mezzo-soprano Sharon Harms performs with the Talea Ensemble at YIVO Institute for Jewish Research (15 W. 16th St, New York, NY).

Chasalow was inspired by the memoirs of his grandmother Muriel Gellert Chasalow (1903-2000) to compose this set of songs, which traverses the tumult of 20th century America from a very personal perspective. Each song inhabits its own musical world with stylistic points of departure from Baroque to Tin Pan Alley, The Beatles, Latin Jazz and Disco to Milton Babbitt.

The stories - which cover Muriel’s experiences coming of age and through adulthood, including piano lessons, marriage, and family vacations - were pulled from a collection of works she had written at a senior center creative writing course when she was in her eighties. "I extracted a number of dramatic situations from the book, composing a poem on each, often incorporating Muriel’s sentences to give a sense of her voice," says the composer.

The April 23 concert also features Alex Weiser's "Coney Island Days" (a love letter to Weiser's own grandmother) and Joan Tower's "Petroushskates." Tickets are $18 ($9 seniors/students), available at Yivo.Org/Musical-Memoir.

Calendar Listing

Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 7:30 pm

New York premiere of
"Muriel's Song" by Eric Chasalow

Sharon Harms, mezzo-soprano
Talea Ensemble

YIVO Center for Jewish History (15 W. 16th St, New York, NY)

Tickets are $18 ($9 seniors/students) available at Yivo.org/Musical-Memoir

March 23: Cutting Edge Concerts "Miami Comes to New York"

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Cutting Edge Concerts kicks off 2026 spring season on March 23

Two-part recital at Symphony Space features pianist José López (Part I) and cellist Sarah Kim with guest cellist Alan Rafferty (Part II)

Season also features world premiere opera by Laura Schwendinger (April 28) and soprano-clarinet duo Whistling Hens (May 12)

Victoria Bond's Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival kicks off its 2026 season on Monday, March 23 at 7:30 pm with a two-part recital titled "Miami Comes to New York." The program - at Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre (2537 Broadway at W. 95th St., Manhattan) - features pianist José López, who's on faculty at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, and Korean cellist Sarah Kim, on faculty at Miami University (in Ohio.) Tickets available at SymphonySpace.org.

Part I celebrates the centennial of Cuban American composer Aurelio de la Vega with three works from different stylistic periods: Prelude No. 1 showcases the early chromaticism influenced by European masters such as Karol Symanowski; Epigrama the continued development from the 1950’s prior to the Cuban Revolution; and the avant-garde spatial scores from the 1970’s as heard in Olep ed Arudamot, composed in the U.S. Also on the program are works by past recipients of the CINTAS Fellowship in Music Composition for composers of Cuban descent (de la Vega won a lifetime achievement award from CINTAS in 2008): Pulitzer Prize winner Tania León, Antonio Hernández Lizaso, Orlando J. García, and Ivette Herryman.

On Part II, Kim performs the world premiere of Victoria Bond's "Women of Note," a solo cello suite celebrating the lives of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, conservationist and author of Silent Spring Rachel Carson, composer Clara Schumann, Korean artist Shin Saimdang, and Anne Frank. The program also features a premiere by Kristin Kuster, recipient of the Charles Ives Prize and a professor of composition at University of Michigan, plus works by Kati Agócs and Ellen Harrison. Guest cellist Alan Rafferty joins Kim on the Agócs and Kuster.

Inspired by Pierre Boulez's series, "Perspective Encounters", the composer and conductor Victoria Bond founded Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival in 1998. Over its 28 year history, Cutting Edge Concerts has presented over 300 new works. Each program highlights the music of living composers, most of whom attend the concert. Along with performances by world-class ensembles and soloists, each program features on-stage discussions between host Victoria Bond and the composers. 

The Cutting Edge Concerts season continues on April 28 with the world premiere of Laura Schwendinger's opera "Margaret in Love and War," and the soprano-clarinet duo Whistling Hens on May 13. All concerts are at Symphony Space at 7:30 pm.

March 9: Akshara Music Ensemble at Baruch PAC

March 9: Akshara Music Ensemble performs at Baruch Performing Arts Center

The group’s innovative sound blends Indian classical music with global, folk and western classical influences

Part of Baruch PAC's Silberman Recital Series

Akshara Music Ensemble brings its distinctive brand of cross-cultural collaboration to Baruch Performing Arts Center on Monday, March 9, 2026 at 7:00 pm. The New York-based ensemble’s innovative sound blends Indian classical music with global, folk and western classical influences. 

Led by Carnatic musician, composer, and educator Bala Skandan, the program of original works highlights Akshara’s talent for combining Indian ragas with music of other cultures, resulting in a distinctive blend of rhythmic sophistication and melodic depth. 

Tickets for Akshara Music Ensemble’s performance on March 9, 2026 at 7 pm are $35 general admission ($20 with CUNY ID), available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu. Baruch Performing Arts Center is at 55 Lexington Ave in Manhattan (enter on 25th Street, between 3rd and Lexington Avenues). The concert is presented in collaboration with Lyric Chamber Music Society.

Akshara photos, bios and more available HERE

Baruch PAC digital press kit available HERE

Pianist Orli Shaham "American Tapestry"

Pianist Orli Shaham and members of Pacific Symphony release “American Tapestry” on February 13, 2026

Album of chamber music by living Americans includes world premiere recordings of commissioned works by Avner Dorman and Margaret Brouwer; and music by Jessie Montgomery, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Viet Cuong, Reena Esmail, Peter Dayton, and Ari Barack Fisher

The pianist Orli Shaham has been the curator, host, and pianist of Pacific Symphony’s Cafe Ludwig chamber music series for nearly two decades. A new album, released February 13, 2026 is the product of her long relationship with the musicians of the symphony, which is based in Southern California.

“American Tapestry” demonstrates the diversity of concert music by living composers in the United States – a virtual portrait of America. The collection features world premiere recordings by leading American composers: Margaret Brouwer, Jessie Montgomery, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Avner Dorman, Viet Cuong, Reena Esmail, Peter Dayton, and Ari Barack Fisher. The works by Dorman and Brouwer were commissioned by Pacific Symphony and are world premiere recordings.

The album fulfills a long-standing dream of Orli Shaham’s. “I have been privileged to play with the brilliant musicians of Pacific Symphony for eighteen years now,” said Shaham. “In that time, we have grown together as we’ve vanquished difficult repertoire in the rehearsal room, luxuriated in our sound on the Samueli stage, and shared Din Tai Fung between rehearsals. We trust and rely on each other’s musicianship. For years, I have wanted to create a recording that documents these extraordinary musical connections, and I am thrilled that we now have this album to share with the world.”  

Along with Shaham, the recording features Richard Cassarino, bass; Meredith Crawford, viola; Tony Ellis, trumpet; Warren Hagerty, cello; Dennis Kim, violin; Joshua Ranz, clarinet; and Benjamin Smolen, flute.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of “American Tapestry." 

Feb. 12: pianist Terry Eder performs music by Bartók and more

Key Pianists Concert Series continues 10th anniversary season at Carnegie Hall

Award-winning pianist Terry Eder, Key Pianists' founder, performs on February 12

Program features works by Bartók, Schubert, Debussy, and Beethoven

The award-winning pianist Terry Eder performs a solo recital presented by Key Pianists Concert Series on Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 7:30 pm at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th Street in New York City). Her program includes music by Schubert, Debussy, Beethoven, and Bartók.

Eder is a specialist in Hungarian music, having studied with Zoltán Kocsis at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in the 1980s. That experience transformed the young pianist. "It was the days of the cold war, when Americans simply did not go to Eastern Europe. The pervasiveness and pride in musical heritage was overwhelming," says Eder. "I became captivated with the uniqueness of the Hungarian language and sensibility, the rustic scenery, the beautiful old architecture, the delicious food, the Parliament still full of bullet holes from WWII, the Turkish baths, the feeling of being so foreign, so out of place." Program highlights include two seldom-programmed works by Bartók - the Sonatine and the Two Romanian Dances - alongside Beethoven's Sonata No. 15 and works by Schubert and Debussy. (Full program details below.)

The recital is part of the Key Pianists Concert Series' 10th anniversary season. Since Terry Eder founded the series in 2015, it has provided a platform for renowned pianists to perform at Carnegie Hall who otherwise might not have the opportunity to perform in New York City.

Tickets for Eder's February 12 recital start at $30 ($25 + $5 fee) and are available at CarnegieHall.org | 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh Avenue.

Pianist Eliza Garth: "By the River" out Feb. 6

Pianist Eliza Garth releases album of concert music inspired by hymn tunes

"By the River" includes world premiere recordings of works written for Garth by David Froom, Scott Wheeler and Sheree Clement

Album also features Brahms' Six Choral Preludes

Released February 6, 2026 on Centaur Records

Hymn tunes are the inspiration for a new recording by the pianist Eliza Garth. "By the River" features works written for Garth by David Froom, Scott Wheeler and Sheree Clement, plus Brahms' Six Choral Preludes and Spiritual Fantasy No. 4 by Frederick Tillis. The forthcoming album is released on Centaur Records (CRC 4170) on February 6, 2026.

The works in this collection are diverse in expression, scope, form and technical demands, but they share a common trait. Each carries a melody that was first sung in a church, found its way into the consciousness of a composer, and travelled on to the concert hall.

"By the River" opens with a composition by Garth's late husband David Froom, to whom the album is dedicated. Variations on an Early American Hymn Tune is a compact work based on the hymn tune Holy Manna. Scott Wheeler's Beach Spring, also a set of variations, connects the American hymn tradition to the gospel piano styles of Keith Jarrett, Charles Ives, and Frederick Rzewski.

The third work written for Garth on the album is Teeth for speaking pianist by Sheree Clement. This theatrical work depicts a pianist in isolation during the pandemic, struggling to manage her extreme emotions and haunted by a hymn from her childhood. Frederick Tillis' Spiritual Fantasy No. 4 is based primarily on Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen, with tunes from other spirituals woven into the 12 minute piece.

The inspiration for the album is Brahms' Six Chorale Preludes, Op. 122 transcribed for piano by Ferruccio Busoni. Brahms composed this set at the end of his life, when he was grieving the loss of his dear friend Clara Schumann, and facing his own mortality.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of By the River" by pianist Eliza Garth.

Bassoonist Frank Morelli: "From the Soul"

Bassoonist Frank Morelli's new recording is released February 20, 2026 on Musica Solis

"From the Soul" features works by Wynton Marsalis, Dominick Argento, Lori Laitman, Jeff Scott, and Nirmali Fenn

Legendary bassoonist's 2024 release "An die Musik" is currently available on Musica Solis, featuring works by Brahms, Schubert, and Schumann

Bassoonist Frank Morelli's sixth solo album "From the Soul" is released on February 20, 2026 on Musica Solis (MS202602). The collection features works by Wynton Marsalis, Dominick Argento, Lori Laitman, Jeff Scott, and Nirmali Fenn.

The selections on this recording are very personal, says Morelli. "Each work chosen for this album speaks from the soul." From Scott's hopeful Elegy for Innocence to Laitman's song cycle based on poetry written by children in a Nazi concentration camp to Marsalis's jazz-inflected Meeelaan performed with the Callisto Quartet, the album explores a range of emotions and moods.

Nirmali Fenn composed Prayer especially for Morelli. The score requires the bassoonist to emulate the sound of the duduk, an Armenian folk instrument. "The bassoon needn’t have just one voice. The bassoon is my voice, and it has been my life’s work to speak through it with variety and sincerity, from both heart and soul," writes Morelli. 

In 2024, the bassoonist released "An die Musik," also on Musica Solis. The album includes transcriptions of Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe, Cello Sonata No. 1 by Johannes Brahms, and An die Musik by Franz Schubert.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of "From the Soul" or "An die Musik" by Frank Morelli.

Baritone Joseph Parrish celebrates Harlem Renaissance

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Baritone Joseph Parrish returns to Baruch Performing Arts Center February 10, 2026

“Songs from the Harlem Renaissance” program includes music by Margaret Bonds and Harry T. Burleigh with texts by Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar among others

Concert curated for Baruch PAC celebrates Black History Month

The award-winning baritone Joseph Parrish returns to Baruch Performing Arts Center on February 10, 2026 with a special program curated for the venue. The evening celebrates Black History Month with Parrish and pianist Amir Farid performing songs from the Harlem Renaissance.

“This original program is centered around one of the pioneering cultural movements in the United States of America during the 20th century," says Parrish. "Through themes of heritage, race, love, urban life, and spirituality, this program sheds a light on the musical and literary themes that shaped a generation of African Americans and many more to come.”

Featured composers include Margaret Bonds, Harry T. Burleigh, Undine Smith Moore, Hall Johnson, with select texts by Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar among others. Full program details below. 

Tickets for baritone Joseph Parrish's performance on Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 7 pm are $35 general admission ($20 with CUNY ID), available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu. Baruch Performing Arts Center is at 55 Lexington Ave in Manhattan (enter on 25th Street, between 3rd and Lexington Avenues).

Cassatt String Quartet announces personnel changes

Cassatt String Quartet announces personnel changes in 2025-2026

New members Laura Goldberg (violin), Amy Galluzzo (viola), and Yi Qun Xu (cello) join violinist Muneko Otani beginning in 2026

Violinist Jennifer Leshnower, violist Emily Brandenburg, and cellist Gwen Krosnick depart in Fall 2025

Cassatt in the Basin, the residency program in West Texas, will continue under the leadership of founder Jennifer Leshnower

The Cassatt String Quartet, a mainstay in American chamber music since 1985, has announced personnel changes during its 2025-2026 season. Violinist Jennifer Leshnower, violist Emily Brandenburg and cellist Gwen Krosnick depart the group in fall 2025. 

Muneko Otani, violinist with the Cassatt String Quartet for 38 of its 40 years, announces that the new members are violinist Laura Goldberg, violist Amy Galluzzo, and cellist Yi Qun Xu. Goldberg is a founding member of the ensemble, and performed with the group for its first decade.

More information about the Cassatt String Quartet as well as artist biographies for violinists Muneko Otani and Laura Goldberg, violist Amy Galluzzo, and cellist Yi Qun Xu are available at CassattQuartet.com. More information about Cassatt in the Basin, the residency program in West Texas, can be found at CassattInTheBasin.net. 

Otani said, “Performing with the Cassatt String Quartet for nearly four decades has been an exhilarating and fulfilling experience. We have commissioned and premiered nearly 800 new works, toured across the country and throughout a dozen nations, and held residencies that have enriched the communities and universities we’ve served. I look forward to carrying these traditions forward—and exploring new artistic possibilities—with my new colleagues as the ensemble enters its fifth decade. I am deeply grateful to the Quartet’s former members, whose dedication and musical passion have made the last 40 years possible.”

Leshnower echoed Otani’s sentiments, saying, "The Quartet has played a significant role in my life for the past 31 years, and I am so grateful to my colleagues in the quartet for their partnership on this ambitious and highly successful artistic journey. Not only have we collectively expanded the string quartet repertoire, but I have also gained deep experience as a leader, speaker, educator, and entrepreneur. As I look to the next phase of my life, I am excited to focus on my career as a violinist and the broader field of arts and nonprofit administration. This includes my work as artistic director of the West Texas residency program Cassatt in the Basin, which is entering its third decade. While I will miss the quartet, I am truly excited about what comes next.”

Cellist Gwen Krosnick stated: "I've been glad to spend five seasons with the CSQ, exploring great string quartet repertoire and, in particular, getting to champion the music of American women like Tania León, Victoria Bond, Dorothy Rudd Moore, and Joan Tower. I am delighted, now, to move my focus toward other inspiring work that I love — including a series of upcoming recitals and recording projects focused on a personal retrospective of American music for solo cello, as well as my cherished ongoing teaching at Columbia and Kneisel Hall. I am thrilled to be returning, as well, to my two loves of curating and community-building as Founder/Artistic Director of the Westchester, NY chapter of Music For Food, the national musician-led nonprofit initiative to fight hunger in our local communities. With inaugural concerts is 2026, MFF Westchester features some of my most beloved colleagues, joining together in chamber music concerts and raising money to support folks struggling with food insecurity in Northern Westchester and beyond."

The violist Emily Brandenburg, in the group since 2024, said, “I am incredibly grateful for this past year with the Cassatt Quartet and for the meaningful relationships I have formed with my fellow members. Our collaborations with composers, guest musicians, and presenters have been truly inspiring, and they are memories I will carry with me throughout my career. I look forward with great enthusiasm to the many joyful musical endeavors I have planned for the coming year and beyond.”

The Cassatt String Quartet was formed in 1985 by violinists Adela Pena and Laura Jean Goldberg, violist Eufrosina Raileanu, and cellist Anna Cholakian. Violinist Muneko Otani joined the quartet in 1987.

In fall of 2025, the quartet was in residence at Bowdoin and Williams colleges and the Cassatt in the Basin program in West Texas. Cassatt performed in Maine as part of the Seal Bay Festival of American Chamber Music. The quartet performs at Purchase College on December 11.

Monday! Baruch PAC season opens with ACME

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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

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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.

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

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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