April 2019
Carol of Words ~ Walt Whitman in Song
To celebrate the bicentennial of Walt Whitman’s birth and his lasting contribution to American letters and song, Lyric Fest presents concerts with distinct programming of Whitman songs.
Find out more »Mavericks of Minimalism
The enchanting final concert of the season, centered around a commissioned work by post-minimalist cross-culturalist, Evan Ziporyn, for string quartet and 4 gamelan players.
Find out more »October 2019
Cynthia Raim, piano
The Chamber Music Society proudly opens their 34th Season with a world-class artist making her 42nd appearance on our series. Cynthia Raim’s wonderfully-crafted recital concludes with Schumann’s early masterpiece: Carnaval, Op. 9, a colorful suite that Franz Liszt assessed as “one of the greatest works I know.”
Find out more »November 2019
Marina Piccinini, flute; Tessa Lark, violin/viola; & Michael Thurber, double bass
“The Heifetz of the flute” (Gramophone), Marina Piccinini, joins the high-energy duo of Lark and Thurber for a genre-bending blend of classical and international folk sounds. Of particular note on this program is the world premiere of a piece by Paul Wiancko whose music the Washington Post lauds as “fresh and full blooded.”
Find out more »December 2019
A Czech Christmas
A vocal quartet, trumpets, recorders, strings, organ and theorbo usher in the season with glorious 17th-century music collected by Bishop-Prince Karl II von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn.
Find out more »Vera Quartet & Roberto Díaz, viola
In just three years as an ensemble, the Vera Quartet has earned top prizes at several competitions and is currently part of Astral and quartet-in-residence at the Curtis Institute. Featuring esteemed violist and Curtis President Roberto Díaz, their PCMS debut program showcases Mendelssohn’s late masterpiece: his B-flat Major String Quintet, a work that melds the exuberance of the composer’s celebrated String Octet with the technical and emotive growth of the intervening years.
Find out more »March 2020
Mending Wall
Mending Wall is a fully staged concert exploring the meaning of walls in our world by giving musical form to questions about identity, community, division, and freedom.
Find out more »November 2020
Jasper Quartet & Amy Yang, piano
Philadelphia is home to a multitude of astonishingly gifted musicians and ensembles, five of whom (the Jasper Quartet and Musical Fund Society Career Advancement Winner Yang) are highlighted in this creative program dedicated to works by living female composers.
Find out more »December 2020
Marcantonio Barone, piano
We are delighted to welcome back to our series a pianist well known for his consummate musicianship and brilliant technique. Marcantonio Barone’s recital features the world premiere of George Crumb’s Metamorphoses (Book II), a work written specifically for him that offers a broad palette of coloristic effects along with Crumb’s unmistakable musical gestures, and an inherent sense of drama coupled with a magical, suspenseful atmosphere.
Find out more »January 2021
Curtis Chamber Orchestra w/ Pamela Frank, violin & Tabea Zimmermann, viola [CANCELED]
Our annual concert collaboration with the esteemed Curtis Institute of Music spotlights the Curtis Chamber Orchestra with beloved Curtis alumna and violin faculty member Pamela Frank and acclaimed violist Tabea Zimmermann. This conductor-less program opens with Mozart’s magnificent Sinfonia Concertante, followed by Britten’s moving Lachrymae (based on John Dowland’s song Flow my tears) and Tchaikovsky’s beloved Serenade for Strings.
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