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May 17, 2026: Chee-Yun, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello; Henry Kramer, piano Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Piano Trio No. 1 in B, Op. 8 May 17, 2026: Chee-Yun, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello; Henry Kramer, piano “I am thinking of not publishing any of my trios,” wrote the twenty-year-old Brahms in November 1853 to Schumann, his new mentor and friend. How many trios had he written, and what didn’t he like about them? Brahms was notorious for destroying his sketches, student pieces, incomplete works, and compositions that did not measure up to his high standard, so it is unlikely that any of these early trios will ever turn up. The fact that he had written other trios, however, does explain how his “first” Trio—that in B major, which he composed in 1853–54—could be such an accomplished work. It was the first chamber work he considered worthy of publication, and with Clara Schumann recommending it to Breitkopf & Härtel, the Trio was duly published in November of 1854. Almost half a century later, in 1889, Simrock acquired rights from other publishers to the early works by Brahms that were not yet in his catalog, which raised the prospect of reissuing the Trio. The mature composer decided to revise this favored product of his youth by reining in some of its excesses. “You’ll never guess,” he wrote to Clara in September, “with what childish amusement I whiled away the beautiful summer days. I have rewritten my B major Trio and can call it op. 108 instead of op. 8. It will not be so wild as before—but whether it will be better—?” His revisions resulted in a work of roughly two-thirds the length of the original. He tightened up the first movement by writing a new second theme preceded by a shorter transition, and by deleting a fugue, but he left the sublime first theme intact—all fifty-plus measures of it. Like many of Schubert’s melodious themes, this expansive theme and the original second theme were hard to treat developmentally, but his new second theme worked well in that regard. Brahms had always excelled at writing scherzos and he found little to change in his 1854 version. His delicate, almost Mendelssohnian opening soon erupts in a tempestuous “ride to the hounds,” replete with hunting-horn calls. The trio luxuriates in a lovely theme that pairs instrumental lines in intervals of sixths and then thirds apart—sonorities much beloved by Brahms. The few changes the composer did make involved tightening up his coda. Again in the slow movement Brahms retained his first theme, a pious dialogue between piano and strings, but he wrote a completely new middle section. The opening returns in a slightly varied guise that preserves the original version’s atmospheric modulations, but dispenses with an interpolated fast section that Brahms thought excessive. As in the first and third movements, Brahms fit his finale with a new second theme, one that Clara disliked but which he considered much better suited to motivic development. He also substantially rewrote much of the remainder of the movement. The most striking feature of the finale, however, was present from the start: Brahms cast it in the minor mode, and though he traverses other keys in the course of the movement, the minor mode prevails even at the forceful close. This Trio, therefore, is one of the extremely rare pieces that flaunt custom by beginning in the major and concluding in the minor. To the delight of American audiences it was long thought that the first performance of the Trio in the original version took place in New York of all unlikely places. William Mason, an American piano student of Liszt, had brought back a copy of the Trio and performed it on November 27, 1855, with Theodor Thomas and Karl Bergmann in Dodsworth’s Hall. More recent research has determined, however, that the work was first performed in Danzig (Germany) on October 13, 1855, played by Messrs. Haupt (piano), Braun (violin), and Klar (cello). Brahms himself gave the first public performance of the revised version in Budapest on January 10, 1890, with violinist Jenö Jubay and cellist David Popper. Vienna had to wait until February 22, when Brahms again took the piano part, this time with Arnold Rosé and Mr. Hummer. Brahms did not consider the new version of his Trio a replacement of the old, but merely an alternative. He remained ambivalent about its merits, as did his friends who loved the familiar youthful work. Clara wrote in her diary, “The whole trio strikes me as better proportioned than it was, but I do not altogether like it.” And the musically sophisticated Elisabet von Herzogenberg wrote, “You had no right to intrude your masterly touch on this lovable, if sometimes vague, product of your youth,” though she ended by saying, “It is beautiful in its present form, and I gladly leave it to the musical philologues to remonstrate with you.” Posterity has decided overwhelmingly in favor of the revised version, which is now heard almost exclusively whenever the beloved B major Trio is programmed. —©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

PARLANCE PROGRAM NOTES LE NUOVE MUSICHE: The Baroque Revolution (1550 - 1660) LE NUOVE MUSICHE: The Baroque Revolution (1550 - 1660) – April 7, 2024: Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI Samuel Adams (1985) Impromptu: After Schubert (Premiere Performance ) – February 26, 2017: Emanuel Ax, piano Bruce Adolphe (1955) Memory Believes (a requiem) for string quartet and chamber choir (World Premiere) – December 3, 2023 Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) Asturias – November 2, 2014: Sharon Isbin, guitar American Songbook Arlen: I Wonder What Became of Me; Gershwin: Our Love is Here to Stay; Weill: Youkali – November 12, 2023: Angel Blue, soprano; Bryan Wagorn, piano Juan Arañéz (died c. 1649) Chacona (“La Vida Bona”) – November 19, 2017: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Anton Arensky (1861-1906) Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32 – January 27, 2019: Pinchas Zukerman Trio C.P.E. Bach (1714–1788) Suite in E minor Wq 62/12 – April 24, 2022 – Marc-André Hamlein, piano Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Adagio and Presto from Sonata in G minor, BWV for solo violin – April 3, 2016: Sean Lee, violin Air from Orchestra Suite No. 3 in D arr. for four cellos – September 29, 2024: Edward Arron, Carter Brey, Rafael Figueroa, and Zvi Plesser, cellos Air on the G String (from Suite in D, BWV 1068) for flute, strings, and continuo – April 3, 2016: Sir James Galway, flute; Benjamin Beilman and Danbi Um, violins; Mark Holloway, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Timothy Cobb, bass; Paolo Bourdignon, harpsichord Air on the G String from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 , arr. for organ by Smith Newell Penfield Arioso from Cantata, BWV 156 – December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ Arioso from Cantata, BWV 156 – January 19, 2025: THE VIRTUOSO ORGANIST PAUL JACOBS, ORGAN Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048 – March 24, 2019: Kristin Lee, violin; Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Maurycy Banszek, viola; Edward Arron, cello; Mihai Marica, cello; Joel Noyes, cello; Tim Cobb, bass; Gilles Vonsattel, harpsichord Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, BWV 1049 for two flutes, solo violin, strings, and continuo – April 3, 2016: Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway, flutes; Benjamin Beilman solo violin; Sean Lee and Danbi Um, violins; Mark Holloway, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Timothy Cobb, bass; Paolo Bourdignon, harpsichord Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, BWV 1051 – November 19, 2017: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 – September 26, 2021: Viola Soloists: Paul Neubauer and Arnaud Sussmann Chorale Prelude “Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ”, BWV 639 (arr. Busoni) – March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano Chorale Prelude “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme”, BWV 645 (arr. Busoni) – March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue, BWV 903 – March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano Concerto in D Minor after Vivaldi, BWV 596 – December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ Double Concerto for Two Flutes in D minor, BWV 1043, arr. by Denis Bouriakov (Denis and Erin Bouriakov, flutes) – December 15, 2024: THE VIRTUOSO FLUTIST. DENIS BOURIAKOV, FLUTE. A RECITAL FOR FLUTE AND ORCHESTRA, with Erin Bouriakov, Flute. Musicians From The New York Philharmonic. Michael Parloff, Conductor. Double Violin Concerto in D Minor BWV 1043 – March 24, 2019: Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violins; Sarah Crocker Vonsattel, violin; Kristin Lee, violin; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; Tim Cobb, bass; Gilles Vonsattel, harpsichord French Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813 – March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano Goldberg Variations BWV 988 – October 29, 2017: Peter Serkin, piano I follow you with Joyful Steps from St. John Passion for soprano, 2 flutes, and continuo – April 3, 2016: Ying Fang, soprano; Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway, flutes; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Paolo Bourdignon, harpsichord Italian Concerto, BWV 971 – March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano Jesus soll mein erstes Wort from Cantata 171 for soprano, violin and continuo – April 3, 2016: Ying Fang, soprano; Sean Lee, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 – December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ Piano Concerto in D Minor for BWV 1052 – March 24, 2019: Gilles Vonsattel, solo piano; Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Wen Qian, violin; Kristin Lee, violin; Sarah Crocker Vonsattel, violin; Ming-Feng Hsin, violin; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; Edward Arron, cello; Joel Noyes, cello; Tim Cobb, bass Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 547 – December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532 – December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ Prelude from Suite for Cello in D, BWV 1012 – March 24, 2019: Edward Arron, cello Prelude from Violin Partita in E, BWV 1006 – March 24, 2019: Kristin Lee, violin Preludio from Partita No. 3 arrg. for 3 violins & viola – May 6, 2018: Oliver Neubauer, violin; Clara Neubauer, violin; Kerry McDermott, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola Sheep May Safely Graze, BWV 208 – December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ Sheep May Safely Graze, BWV 208 (arr. Petri) – March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano Sheep Safely Graze, from Cantata 208 for soprano, two flutes, and continuo – April 3, 2016: Ying Fang, soprano; Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway, flutes; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord Sinfonia from Cantata, BWV 29 (arr. Marcel Dupre) – December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ Sonata in E, BWV 1035 for flute and continuo – April 3, 2016: Sir James Galway, flute; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Paolo Bourdignon, harpsichord Suite in B minor, BWV 1067 for flute, strings, and continuo – April 3, 2016: Sir James Galway, flute; Benjamin Beilman and Danbi Um, violins; Mark Holloway, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Timothy Cobb, bass; Paolo Bourdignon, harpsichord Suite in E minor, BWV 996 for solo guitar – September 25, 2016: Jason Vieaux, guitar Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (Notes coming soon!) — March 22, 2020: Paul Jacobs Organ Toccata in C minor, BWV 911 – March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano Toccata in D, BMV 912 – March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano Trio Sonata in E Minor, BWV 528 – December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ Trio Sonata No. 6 in G major, BMV 530 (Notes coming soon!) — March 22, 2020: Paul Jacobs Organ Violin and Piano Sonata in E, BWV 1016 – March 24, 2019: Sarah Crocker Vonsattel, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich hiermit arr. for four cellos by Finckel Cello Quartet – September 29, 2024: Edward Arron, Carter Brey, Rafael Figueroa, and Zvi Plesser, cellos Samuel Barber (1910-1981) Adagio for Strings – December 16, 2018: Emerson Quartet Adagio from String Quartet No. 1, Op. 11 – January 10, 2010: Emerson String Quartet Hermit Songs, Op. 29 – March 29, 2015: Matthew Polenzani, tenor; Ken Noda, piano Steven Banks (1993) As I Am – November 20, 2022 – Steven Banks, saxophone, Xak Bjerken, piano Come As You Are – November 20, 2022 – Steven Banks, saxophone, Xak Bjerken, piano Amy Barlowe Hebraique Elegie for two violins – February 20, 2022: Paul Huang; Danbi Um, violins Jean Barrière (1707-1747) Allegro prestissimo from Sonata in G for two cellos – September 29, 2024: Carter Grey and Edward Arron, cellos Béla Bartók (1881–1945) Contrasts, BB 116 – October 5, 2014: Osmo Vänska, clarinet; Erin Keefe, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano Rhapsody No. 1 for cello and piano – May 21, 2023 – Zlatomir Fung, cello, Albert Cano Smit, piano Sonata No. 2, Sz 76 (1922) – March 11, 2018: Benjamin Beilman, Violin; Orion Weiss, piano Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Adelaide, Op. 46 – March 29, 2015: Matthew Polenzani, tenor; Ken Noda, piano Allegretto WoO – December 4, 2022 – Sitkovetsky Trio Cavatina from String Quartet in B-flat, Op. 130 – December 3, 2023 – Brentano String Quartet; Antioch Chamber Ensemble Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2 – June 19, 2022: Amanda Forsyth; Shai Wosner, piano Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2 – February 9, 2025: The Virtuoso Cellist, with Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih Cello Sonata No. 3 in A, Op. 69 (Notes coming soon!) – June 7, 2020: Amanda Forsyth, cello; Angela Cheng, piano “Eyeglasses” Duo in E-flat, WoO 32 for viola and cello (Notes coming soon!) – June 6, 2020: Matthew Lipman, viola; Amanda Forsyth, cello Kakadu Variations, Op. 121a – January 27, 2019: Pinchas Zukerman Trio Fantasia in G minor, Op. 77 – January 19, 2020: Paul Lewis, piano Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106 “Hammerklavier“ – April 24, 2022 – Marc-André Hamlein, piano Piano Trio in E-flat (“Archduke”), Op. 97 – June 19, 2022: Zukerman Trio Piano Trio in G, Op. 1, No. 2 – December 4, 2022 – Sitkovetsky Trio Quartet in B-flat, Op. 130 (with the Grosse Fuge) – April 26, 2026: Jerusalem String Quartet Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95 (“Serioso”) – March 26, 2017: Jerusalem String Quartet Romance in F, Op. 50 for violin and piano – September 24, 2017: Sean Lee, violin; Michael Brown, piano Seven Variations on Bei Männern from Mozart's Magic Flute for cello and piano - September 29, 2024: Edward Arron, cello; Jeewon Park, piano Six Bagatelles from Op. 119 - March, 10 2024: Richard Goode, piano Sonata No. 4 in C, Op. 102, for cello & piano – December 13, 2015: Paul Watkins, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major, Op. 27, no. 1, “Quasi una fantasia” – January 19, 2020: Paul Lewis, piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, no. 2, “Quasi una fantasia” (“Moonlight”) – January 19, 2020: Paul Lewis, piano Sonata No. 9 in A, Op. 47, (Kreutzer) for violin & piano – December 13, 2015: Kristin Lee, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano Sonata No. 10 in G, Op. 96 (1812) – March 11, 2018: Benjamin Beilman, Violin; Orion Weiss, piano Sonata No. 10 in G, Op. 96 for violin and piano – April 19, 2009: Elmar Oliveira, violin; John Novacek, piano Sonata No. 30 in E, Op. 109 - March, 10 2024: Richard Goode, piano String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132 – April 13, 2025: Quartetto Di Cremona String Quartet in C# minor, Op. 131 – April 8, 2018: Danish String Quartet String Quartet in D, Op. 18, No. 3 – April 8, 2018: Danish String Quartet String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 127 – January 4, 2015: Emerson String Quartet String Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2 – October 20, 2024: Modigliani Quartet String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 – April 8, 2018: Danish String Quartet String Trio in G, Op. 9, No. 1 (Notes coming soon!) – June 6, 2020: Pinchas Zukerman, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Amanda Forsyth, cello The Diabelli Variations, Op. 120 - March, 10 2024: Richard Goode, piano Trio in D, Op. 70, No. 1 (Ghost) for violin, cello, & piano – December 13, 2015: Kristin Lee, violin; Paul Watkins, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano Trio in E-flat, Op. 1, No. 1 – October 30, 2016: Wu Han, piano; Philip Setzer, violin; David Finckel, cello Trio No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 1 – October 30, 2016: Wu Han, piano; Philip Setzer, violin; David Finckel, cello Violin Sonata No. 3 in E-flat major. Op. 12, No. 3 – February 20, 2022: Paul Huang, violin; Juho Pohjonen Violin Sonata No. 5 in F (“Spring), Op. 24 – June 19, 2022: Pinchas Zukerman, violin; Shai Wosner, piano Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30, No. 3 (Notes coming soon!)- May 3, 2020: Paul Huang, violin; Juho Pohjonen, piano Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) Les nuits d’été, op. 7 – April 23, 2017: Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano; Warren Jones, piano Georges Bizet (1838-1875) Chanson d’Avril – February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano La Coccinelle – February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Three Songs – September 27, 2009: Danielle de Niese, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) Cello Sonata No. 6 in A, G. 4 – September 26, 2021: Cello Soloist: Nicholas Canellakis Quartet in C, Op. 2, No. 6 - October 27, 2019: Quartetto di Cremona Quintet in D for guitar and string - September 25, 2016: Jason Vieaux, guitar; Escher String Quartet Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) String Quartet No. 2 in D – January 14, 2024: Goldmund Quartet Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) 3 Pieces for cello and piano – February 9, 2025: The Virtuoso Cellist, with Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Ballades, Op. 10 – October 14, 2018: Garrick Ohlsson, piano Cello Sonata in E minor, Op. 38 – April 2, 2023 – Paul Watkins, cello, Boris Berman, piano Cello Sonata No. 2 in F, Op. 99 – May 17, 2026: Chee-Yun, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello; Henry Kramer, piano Eight Pieces, Op. 76 – October 14, 2018: Garrick Ohlsson, piano Klavierstücke, Op. 118 – October 4, 2015: Richard Goode, piano Klavierstücke, Op. 119 – October 4, 2015: Richard Goode, piano Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 – October 5, 2014: Arnaud Sussmann and Erin Keefe violins; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Rafael Figueroa, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano Piano Trio No. 1 in B, Op. 8 – May 17, 2026: Chee-Yun, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello; Henry Kramer, piano Piano Trio No. 2 in C, Op. 87 – January 27, 2019: Pinchas Zukerman Trio Sextet for Strings No. 2 in G, Op. 36 – October 20, 2022 – Emerson String Quartet Sonata in E-Flat, Op. 120, for viola and piano – September 27, 2009: Lawrence Dutton, viola; Ken Noda, piano Sonata No. 2 in A, Op. 100 – November 15, 2015: Jeremy Denk, piano; Stefan Jackiw, violin String Quartet in B-flat, Op. 67 – October 20, 2024: Modigliani Quartet Three Intermezzos for piano, Op. 117 – April 2, 2023 – Boris Berman, piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8, for violin, cello, and piano – October 18, 2009: David Chan, violin; Jeewon Park, piano, Rafael Figueroa, cello Trio in A minor, Op. 114, for viola, cello, and piano – April 2, 2023 – Ettore Causa, viola, Paul Watkins, cello, Boris Berman, piano Trio in E-flat, Op. 40 for violin, horn, and piano – May 12, 2024: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano; Chee-Yun, violin; Brad Gemeinhardt Variations on a Hungarian Theme, Op. 21, No. 2 – October 14, 2018: Garrick Ohlsson, piano Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21, No. 1 – October 14, 2018: Garrick Ohlsson, piano Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35, Book 1 – October 14, 2018: Garrick Ohlsson, piano Viola Sonata in E-flat, Op. 120, No. 2 – April 2, 2023 – Ettore Causa, viola, Boris Berman, piano Violin Sonata in A, Op. 100 – May 21, 2023 Kevin Zhu, violin, Albert Cano Smit, piano Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 – May 17, 2026: Chee-Yun, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello; Henry Kramer, piano Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Divertimenti for String Quartet – January 29, 2023, Danish String Quartet Henri Brod (1799 – 1839) Duo from Lucia di Lammermoor, Op. 55 for oboe & cello and piano – September 18, 2022 – Elaine Douvas, oboe, Joel Noyes, cello, Bryan Wagorn, piano Max Bruch (1838-1920) Andante con moto in C# Minor, Op. 83 for clarinet, cello, and piano – April 19, 2009: Jon Manasse, clarinet; Rafael Figueroa, cello; John Novacek, piano Kol Nidrei for cello and piano - February 18, 2024: Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Michael Stephen Brown, piano Gaspar Cassadó (1897-1966) Sardana and Jota from Suite for solo cello – September 24, 2017: Rafael Figueroa, cello Suite for Solo Cello – October 18, 2009: Rafael Figueroa, cello Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) Concerto in D, Op. 21 for violin, piano, and string quartet – September 23, 2018: Arnaud Sussmann, solo violin; Michael Brown, piano; Sean Lee, violin; Emily Smith, violin; Matt Lipman, viola; Nick Canellakis, cello Gilad Cohen (Born 1980) Trio for a Spry Clarinet, Weeping Cello and Ruminating Harp – December 18, 2016: Emmanuel Ceyssonu, harp; Jerry Grossman, cello; Inn-hyuck Cho, clarinet “Moonrhymes” (Premiere) for 3 violins, viola and piano – May 6, 2018: Kerry McDermott, violin; Clara Neubauer, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Oliver Neubauer, violin; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) Four Impromptus, Opp. 29, 36, 51, & 66 – February 26, 2017: Emanuel Ax, piano Four Mazurkas, op. 67 – April 23, 2017: Warren Jones, piano Polonaise Brillante in C, Op. 3 for cello and piano – September 29, 2024: Carter Brey, cello; Jeewon Park, piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 58 – February 26, 2017: Emanuel Ax, piano Valse Brilliante in A flat, Op. 34, No. 1 for piano – September 24, 2017: Michael Brown, piano John Corigliano (Born 1938) Lullaby for Natalie – April 14, 2019: Anne Akiko Meyers, violin; Jason Vieaux, guitar Archangelo Corelli (1653-1713) Sonata in D minor Op. 5 No. 12 “La Folia” arr. Andy Poxon – April 14, 2019: Anne Akiko Meyers, violin Charles Dancla (1817-1907) Variations on Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman for three violins and viola – May 6, 2018: Kerry McDermott, violin; Clara Neubauer, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Oliver Neubauer, violin Louis-Claude Daquin (1694-1772) Le Coucou – November 4, 2018: Lucille Chung, piano Félicien David (1810-1876) La Nuit (arr. Vieuxtemps) for viola and piano – September 24, 2017: Mark Holloway, viola; Michael Brown, piano Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Cello Sonata in D minor, L. 135 – March 13, 2022: Kristin Lee, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Michael Brown, piano Clair de lune – November 12, 2023: Angel Blue, soprano; Bryan Wagorn, piano Danses sacrée et profane, L. 103 for harp and strings – December 18, 2016: Mariko Anraku, harp; David Chan, concertmaster; Catherine Ro, violin; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Rafael Figueroa, cello Hommage à Haydn – October 17, 2021: Roman Rabinovich, piano; Escher String Quartet Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and piano – November 20, 2022 – Steven Banks, saxophone, Xak Bjerken, piano String Quartet – April 13, 2025: Quartetto Di Cremona Suite bergamasque arranged for two harps – December 18, 2016: Mariko Anraku, harp; Emmanuel Ceysson, harp Violin Sonata in G minor, L. 140 – March 13, 2022: Kristin Lee, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Michael Brown, piano François Devienne (1759-1803) Flute Concerto No. 7 in E minor – December 15, 2024: THE VIRTUOSO FLUTIST. DENIS BOURIAKOV, FLUTE. A RECITAL FOR FLUTE AND ORCHESTRA, with Erin Bouriakov, Flute. Musicians From The New York Philharmonic. Michael Parloff, Conductor. Y. Dobon (1916-1996) Zowie! Goes the Weasel for 3 violins and viola – May 6, 2018: Kerry McDermott, violin; Clara Neubauer, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Oliver Neubauer, violin Franz and Karl Doppler (1821-1883; 1825-1900) Rigoletto Fantasie for 2 flutes and piano – Seth Morris and Maron Khourey, flutes, Bryan Wagorn, piano John Duke (1899-1984) Three Songs – May 15, 2016: James Morris, bass-baritone; Ken Noda, piano Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Songs My Mother Taught Me, arr. for violin and piano – May 12, 2024: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano; Chee-Yun, violin; Brad Gemeinhardt String Quartet No. 14 in A-Flat, Op. 105 – January 10, 2010: Emerson String Quartet Terzetto in C, Op. 74 or 2 violins and viola – May 6, 2018: Clara Neubauer, violin; Kerry McDermott, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96 (American) – November 20, 2016: Frank Huang, concertmaster; Sheryl Staples, principal associate concertmaster; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Carter Brey; cello Quartet No. 13 in G, Op. 106 – March 26, 2017: Jerusalem String Quartet Juan de Encina (1411-1456) Oy Comamos – November 19, 2017: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) Quintet in A minor, Op. 84 for piano and strings – November 20, 2016: Jonathan Biss, piano; Frank Huang, concertmaster; Sheryl Staples, principal associate concertmaster; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Carter Brey; cello English Madrigals John Bennet: All Creatures Now William Byrd: Though Amaryllis Dance Thomas Weelkes: Hark, All Ye Lovely Saints Thomas Tomkins: Adieu, Ye City-Prisoning Towers John Wilbye: Draw on Sweet Night Thomas Morley: Fyre, Fyre! – December 3, 2023: Brentano String Quartet; Antioch Chamber Ensemble Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) Danse Espagnole from La Vida Breve for violin and piano – September 24, 2017: Emily Daggett Smith, violin; Michael Brown, piano Siete canciones populares españolas – November 2, 2014: Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano; Sharon Isbin, guitar Siete Canciones Populares Espanolas – April 14, 2019: Anne Akiko Meyers, violin; Jason Vieaux, guitar Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) Mélodies – November 12, 2023: Angel Blue, soprano; Bryan Wagorn, piano Romance in B flat, Op. 28 for violin and piano – September 24, 2017: Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Michael Brown, piano César Franck (1822-1890) Prelude, Fugue, and Variation, Op. 18 – January 19, 2025: THE VIRTUOSO ORGANIST PAUL JACOBS, ORGAN Sonata in A – November 15, 2015: Jeremy Denk, piano; Stefan Jackiw, violin George Gershwin (1898-1937) Lullaby for string quartet (American) – November 20, 2016: Frank Huang, concertmaster; Sheryl Staples, principal associate concertmaster; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Carter Brey; cello Preludes – November 12, 2023: Angel Blue, soprano; Bryan Wagorn, piano Phillip Glass (Born 1937) Metamorphosis II – April 14, 2019: Jason Vieaux, guitar Osvaldo Golijov (1960) Tenebrae – April 13, 2025: Quartetto Di Cremona Georg Goltermann (1824-1898) Serenade Op. 119, No. 2 for four cellos – September 29, 2024: Edward Arron, Carter Brey, Rafael Figueroa, and Zvi Plesser, cellos Enrique Granados (1867–1916) Canciones amatorias – April 23, 2017: Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano; Warren Jones, piano Spanish Dance in E minor, Op. 37, no. 5 – November 2, 2014: Sharon Isbin, guitar Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) Andante con moto for piano trio – October 15, 2023: Lysander Piano Trio Cello Sonata, Op. 36 –February 9, 2025: The Virtuoso Cellist, with Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih Sonata in A Minor, Op. 36, for cello and piano – October 19, 2008: Carter Brey, cello; Warren Jones, piano Marc-André Hamelin Suite à l’ancienne (Suite in the old style) (2020) – April 24, 2022: Marc-André Hamelin, piano Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759) Angels ever bright and fair (from Theodora) – February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Endless Pleasure (from Semele) – February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Sonata in G minor, Op. 2, No. 8 for two cellos and piano – September 29, 2024: Zvi Plesser and Rafael Figueroa, cellos; Jeewon Park, piano Two Opera Arias – May 15, 2016: James Morris, bass-baritone; Ken Noda, piano Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Allegro molto from Cello Concerto in C major: Hob. VIIb/1 – September 29, 2024: Edward Arron, Carter Brey, Rafael Figueroa, and Zvi Plesser, cellos Piano Sonata No. 50 in C Hob. XVI: 50 – October 17, 2021: Roman Rabinovich, piano; Escher String Quartet Piano Trio in G, Hob. XV: 25 (“Gypsy”) – October 17, 2021: Roman Rabinovich, piano; Escher String Quartet Quartet in D, Op. 64, No. 5 (“The Lark”) – March 26, 2017: Jerusalem String Quartet Quartet in B-flat, Op. 76, No. 4 (“Sunrise”) – April 26, 2026: Jerusalem String Quartet String Quartet in B-flat, Op. 76, No. 4 (“Sunrise”) – October 17, 2021: Roman Rabinovich, piano; Escher String Quartet String Quartet in G, Op. 33, No. 5 – October 20, 2022 – Emerson String Quartet String Quartet in G, Op. 77, No. 1 – October 17, 2021: Roman Rabinovich, piano; Escher String Quartet Symphony No. 6 in D, Hob. 1/6 (“The Morning”) – September 14, 2025: “SINGERS” FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA The Seven Last Words of Christ for string quartet – February 17, 2018: Chiara String Quartet Phillip Houghton Opals – November 19, 2017: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Jenö Hubay (1858-1937) Scenes de la Csarda, No. 3, Op. 18 for violin and piano – September 24, 2017: Danbi Um, violin; Michael Brown, piano Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) Chansons de Don Quichotte – May 15, 2016: James Morris, bass-baritone; Ken Noda, piano Charles Ives (1874-1954) Sonata No. 1, S. 60 – November 15, 2015: Jeremy Denk, piano; Stefan Jackiw, violin Sonata No. 4 (Children’s Day at the Camp Meeting), S. 63 – November 15, 2015: Jeremy Denk, piano; Stefan Jackiw, violin Variations on "America" – January 19, 2025: THE VIRTUOSO ORGANIST PAUL JACOBS, ORGAN Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) On an Overgrown Path, Series 1, Nos. 1, 6, and 7 – March 8, 2026: Jonathan Biss, piano Quartet No. 1 (Kreutzer Sonata) – March 6, 2016: The Escher String Quartet Antônio Carlos Jobím (1927-1994) A Felicidade – April 14, 2019: Jason Vieaux, guitar Alan Jay Kernis 100 Great Dance Hits for guitar and string quartet – September 25, 2016: Jason Vieaux, guitar; Escher String Quartet Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) Suite for two violins, cello, and piano (left hand) – February 12, 2023 – Gloria Chien, piano, Benjamin Beilman and Alexi Kenney, violins, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola, Mihai Marica, cello Suite from Much Ado about Nothing, Op. 11 – February 20, 2022: Danbi Um, violin; Juho Pohjonen, piano Fritz Kreisler (1875 — 1962) Three Pieces for Violin and Piano: Marche Miniature Viennoise The Old Refrain Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta Benjamin Beilman, violin, Gloria Chien, piano Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Fantasia and Fugue on 'Ad Nos, Ad Salutarem Undam' – January 19, 2025: THE VIRTUOSO ORGANIST PAUL JACOBS, ORGAN Selected Songs – March 29, 2015: Matthew Polenzani, tenor; Ken Noda, piano Federico García Lorca (1898–1936) Canciones españolas antiguas – November 2, 2014: Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano; Sharon Isbin, guitar Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) Variations on a Theme of Paganini for two pianos – December 19, 2017: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) Piano Quartet – February 12, 2023 – Gloria Chien, piano, Alexi Kenney, violin, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola, Mihai Marica, cello Amanda Maier (1853-1894) Piano Trio in E-flat – October 15, 2023: Lysander Piano Trio Antonio Martín y Coll (1650-1734) Diferéncias Sobre Las Folia – November 19, 2017: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet El Villano – November 19, 2017: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Bohuslav Martinů (1809-1959) Cello Sonata No. 1 – February 9, 2025: The Virtuoso Cellist, with Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih Jules Massenet (1842-1912) Letter Scene and Va! Laisse couler mes larmes from Werther – April 23, 2017: Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano; Warren Jones, piano Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Octet in E-flat, Op. 20 for strings – September 24, 2017: Paul Neubauer, viola; Arnaud Sussman, violin; Rafael Figueroa, cello; Michael Brown, piano Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 65 – January 19, 2025: THE VIRTUOSO ORGANIST PAUL JACOBS, ORGAN Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66 – December 4, 2022 – Sitkovetsky Trio Song Without Words in D for cello and piano – September 29, 2024: Rafael Figueroa, cello; Jeewon Park, piano String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13 – November 14, 2021 – Schumann String Quartet String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 80 – January 10, 2010: Emerson String Quartet Trio No 2 in C Minor, Op. 66 for violin, cello, and piano – April 19, 2009: Elmar Oliveira, violin; Rafael Figueroa, cello; John Novacek, piano Olivier Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time - February 18, 2024: Anthony McGill, clarinet; Stefan Jackiw, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Michael Stephen Brown, piano Pat Metheny Road to the Sun – November 19, 2017: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Jesse Montgomery Peace for clarinet and piano - February 18, 2024: Anthony McGill, clarinet; Michael Stephen Brown, piano Xavier Montsalvatge (1912–2002) Selections from Cinco canciónes negras – November 2, 2014: Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano, Sharon Isbin, guitar Moritz Moszkowski (1854–1925) Suite for two violins and piano, Op. 71 – February 20, 2022: Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Juho Pohjonen, piano Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Adagio and Rondo, K. 617 for glass harmonica, flute, oboe, viola, and cello – May 19, 2019: Friedrich Heinrich Kern, glass harmonica; Chelsea Knox, flute; Elaine Douvas, oboe; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello Adagio in B minor, K. 540 – October 29, 2017: Peter Serkin, piano Adagio in C for Armonica, K. 617 – January 31, 2010: Cecilia Brauer, glass harmonica Adagio in C, K. 617a for glass harmonica – May 19, 2019: Friedrich Heinrich Kern, glass harmonica Al desio di chi t’adoro – September 27, 2009: Danielle de Niese, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Andante in C, K. 315 for flute and orchestra – December 15, 2024: THE VIRTUOSO FLUTIST. DENIS BOURIAKOV, FLUTE. A RECITAL FOR FLUTE AND ORCHESTRA, with Erin Bouriakov, Flute. Musicians From The New York Philharmonic. Michael Parloff, Conductor. Ave Verum Corpus for chamber choir and string quartet – December 3, 2023: Brentano String Quartet; Antioch Chamber Ensemble Bassoon Concerto in B-flat, K. 191 – September 14, 2025: “SINGERS” FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA Clarinet Concerto in A, K. 622 – September 14, 2025: “SINGERS” FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA Clarinet Trio in E flat, Op. 498 (“Kegelstatt”) – November 4, 2018: Pascual Martinez-Fortese, clarinet; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Alessio Bax, piano Concerto No. 14 in E flat, K. 449 for piano and string quartet – September 23, 2018: Michael Brown, solo piano; Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Emily Smith, violin; Matt Lipman, viola; Nick Canellakis, cello; David J. Grossman, bass Deh vieni non tardar (from Le Nozze di Figaro) – February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Divertimento in F, K. 138 – January 29, 2023, Danish String Quartet Duo in G, K. 423, for violin & viola – October 19, 2008: Sheryl Staples, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola Fantasie in F minor, K. 594 for organ – May 19, 2019: Paul Jacobs, organ Flute Concerto in G, K. 313 – December 15, 2024: THE VIRTUOSO FLUTIST. DENIS BOURIAKOV, FLUTE. A RECITAL FOR FLUTE AND ORCHESTRA, with Erin Bouriakov, Flute. Musicians From The New York Philharmonic. Michael Parloff, Conductor. Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat, K. 495 – September 14, 2025: “SINGERS” FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA Non più di fiori from La Clemenza di Tito, K. 621 – May 19, 2019: Wendy Bryn Harmer, soprano; Inn-Hyuck Cho, basset horn; Ken Noda, piano Piano Quartet in G minor, K. 478 – May 8, 2022: Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Anna Polonsky, piano; Paul Neubauer, viola; Fred Sherry, cello; Michael Parloff, lecturer Quartet for Oboe (soprano Saxophone) and Strings, arr. by Steven Banks – November 20, 2022 – Steven Banks, saxophone, Benjamin Bowman, violin, Milan Milisavljević, viola, Rafael Figueroa, cello Quartet in D, K. 575 (Prussian No. 1) – March 6, 2016: The Escher String Quartet Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, arr. for four cellos by Douglas Moore – September 29, 2024: Edward Arron, Carter Brey, Rafael Figueroa, and Zvi Plesser, cellos S’altro che lagrime (from La Clemenza di Tito) – February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Serenade No. 10 in B-flat, K. 361/370a (Gran Partita) – September 18, 2022: Winds of Met Sonata in B flat, K. 570 – October 29, 2017: Peter Serkin, piano Sonata in C, K. 521 for piano 4-hands – December 19, 2017: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano Sonata in A, K. 526 – March 11, 2018: Benjamin Beilman, Violin; Orion Weiss, piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310 – October 4, 2015: Richard Goode, piano Sonata No. 15 in F, K. 533 – October 4, 2015: Richard Goode, piano Sonata in F, K. 533/494 – March 8, 2026: Jonathan Biss, piano Sonata in C minor, K. 457 – March 8, 2026: Jonathan Biss, piano String Quartet in C, K. 465 (“Dissonance”) – November 14, 2021 – Schumann String Quartet String Quintet in E-flat, K. 614 – May 19, 2019: Calidore String Quartet; Matthew Lipman, viola String Quartet in G major, K. 387 – January 4, 2015: Emerson String Quartet Three Late Songs, K. 596 – 598 – May 19, 2019: Wendy Bryn Harmer, soprano; Ken Noda, piano String Quartet No. 16 in E-flat, K. 428 – January 29, 2023, Danish String Quartet Two Concert Arias – May 15, 2016: James Morris, bass-baritone; Ken Noda, piano Un moto di gioia (from Le Nozze di Figaro) – February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Violin Sonata in A, K. 526 – May 8, 2022: Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Anna Polonsky, piano; Paul Neubauer, viola; Fred Sherry, cello; Michael Parloff, lecturer Violin Sonata in E minor, K. 300c (K. 304) – October 5, 2014: Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano Violin Sonata in G, K. 379 – May 8, 2022: Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Anna Polonsky, piano; Paul Neubauer, viola; Fred Sherry, cello; Michael Parloff, lecturer Zeffiretti lusinghieri (from Idomeneo) – February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Modest Musorgsky (1839-1881) Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks – November 4, 2018: Alessio Bax, piano John Novacek Four Rags for Two Jo(h)ns for clarinet and piano – April 19, 2009: Jon Manasse, clarinet; John Novacek, piano Mark O’Connor F.C.’s Jig for violin and viola – May 6, 2018: Kerry McDermott, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola Hermeto Pascoal Da Sábado pra Dominguihnos – November 19, 2017: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Arvo Pärt Fratres for violin and piano - February 18, 2024: Stefan Jackiw, violin; Michael Stephen Brown, piano Sam Perkin Freak Show – December 4, 2022 – Sitkovetsky Trio Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) Histoire du Tango – April 14, 2019: Anne Akiko Meyers, violin; Jason Vieaux, guitar Milonga del ángel – November 20, 2022 Steven Banks, saxophone, Xak Bjerken, piano Amilcare Ponchielli (1834-1886) Quartetto for flute, oboe, B-flat clarinet, E-flat clarinet and piano – September 18, 2022 – Met Winds David Popper (1843-1913) Requiem for three cellos and piano – September 29, 2024: Rafael Figueroa, Edward Arron, and Zvi Plesser, cellos; Jeewon Park, piano Baden Powell Samba Novo – November 19, 2017: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 119 (1949) – February 8, 2015: David Finckel, cello; Wu Han, piano Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) Crisantemi – October 27, 2019: Quartetto di Cremona Three Arias – November 12, 2023: Angel Blue, soprano; Bryan Wagorn, piano Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) Andante from Sonata in G minor, Op. 19 for cello and piano – September 29, 2024: Zvi Plesser, cello; Jeewon Park, piano Six Songs, Op. 38: In My Garden at Night, To Her, Daisies, Pied Piper, Dreams, A-oo – February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Sonata for Cello and Piano in g minor, Op. 19 – February 8, 2015: David Finckel, cello; Wu Han, piano Suite No. 2, Op. 17 for two pianos – December 19, 2017: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano Trio élégiaque No. 2 in D minor, Op. 9 – May 21, 2023 – Kevin Zhu, violin, Zlatomir Fung, cello, Albert Cano Smit, piano Shulamit Ran: Betwixt and Between – String Quartet No. 4 – April 26, 2026: Jerusalem String Quartet Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Air de feu from L’enfante et les sortileges – March 9, 2025: Ravel’s 150th Birthday Concert, with Erika Baikoff, Soprano; Soohong Park, piano Cinq mélodies populaires grecques – March 29, 2015: Matthew Polenzani, tenor; Ken Noda, piano Cinq mélodies populaires grecques for soprano and piano – March 9, 2025: Ravel’s 150th Birthday Concert, with Erika Baikoff, Soprano; Soohong Park, piano Gaspard de la nuit for piano – March 9, 2025: Ravel’s 150th Birthday Concert, with Erika Baikoff, Soprano; Soohong Park, piano Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet, and string quartet – December 18, 2016: Emmanuel Ceysson, harp; Érik Gratton, flute; Inn-hyuck Cho, clarinet; David Chan, concertmaster; Catherine Ro, violin; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Jerry Grossman, cello Le Tombeau de Couperin for piano – March 9, 2025: Ravel’s 150th Birthday Concert, with Erika Baikoff, Soprano; Soohong Park, piano Ma mere l’oye arranged for two harps – December 18, 2016: Mariko Anraku, harp; Emmanuel Ceysson, harp Manteau de fleurs for soprano and piano Ballade de la reine morte d’aimer for soprano and piano – March 9, 2025: Ravel’s 150th Birthday Concert, with Erika Baikoff, Soprano; Soohong Park, piano Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn – October 17, 2021: Roman Rabinovich, piano; Escher String Quartet Mother Goose Suite for piano 4-hands – May 12, 2024: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano; Chee-Yun, violin; Brad Gemeinhardt Pavane pour une infante défunte for piano – March 9, 2025: Ravel’s 150th Birthday Concert, with Erika Baikoff, Soprano; Soohong Park, piano Piano Trio in A minor – March 13, 2022: Kristin Lee, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Michael Brown, piano Shéherazade for soprano and piano – March 9, 2025: Ravel’s 150th Birthday Concert, with Erika Baikoff, Soprano; Soohong Park, piano Sonata for Violin and Cello – March 13, 2022: Kristin Lee, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Michael Brown, piano String Quartet in F – November 14, 2021 – Schumann String Quartet The Valley of the Bells for piano - February 18, 2024: Michael Stephen Brown, piano Tzigane for violin and piano – May 6, 2018: Oliver Neubauer, violin; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano Vocalise Etude en forme de habanera for soprano and piano – March 9, 2025: Ravel’s 150th Birthday Concert, with Erika Baikoff, Soprano; Soohong Park, piano Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) Quartet in D – October 27, 2019: Quartetto di Cremona Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) Flight of the Bumblebee, arr. Rachmaninoff – November 4, 2018: Alessio Bax, piano Chris Rogerson New Work for two violins and piano – Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Juho Pohjonen, piano Frederic Rzewski Demons for violin and piano (2017) – March 11, 2018: Benjamin Beilman, Violin; Orion Weiss, piano Joaquín Rodrigo (1901–1999) Aranjuez, ma pensée – November 2, 2014: Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano; Sharon Isbin, guitar Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) Canzonetta spagnuola – April 23, 2017: Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano; Warren Jones, piano Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) Carnival of the Animals – January 31, 2010: Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson, flute; Stephen Williamson, clarinet; Yoon Kwon, violin; Abraham Appleman, viola; Joel Noyes, cello; Timothy Cobb, bass; Gregory Zuber, xylophone; Gareth Icenogle, narrator Carnival of the Animals – November 4, 2018: Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, pianos; Yoobin Son, flute; Pascual Martinez-Fortese, clarinet; Sheryl Staples, violin; Qian-Qian Li, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Eileen Moon, cello; Tim Cobb, bass; Barry Centanni, xylophone Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28, arr. by Denis Bouriakov – December 15, 2024: THE VIRTUOSO FLUTIST. DENIS BOURIAKOV, FLUTE. A RECITAL FOR FLUTE AND ORCHESTRA, with Erin Bouriakov, Flute. Musicians From The New York Philharmonic. Michael Parloff, Conductor. Romance, Op. 36 for cello and piano – September 24, 2017: Mihai Marica, cello; Michael Brown, piano Pablo Sarasate (1844-1908) Navarra, Op. 33 for two violins and piano – February 20, 2022: Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Juho Pohjonen, piano Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Duo Sonata in A, Op. 162, D. 574, for violin and piano – October 18, 2009: David Chan, violin; Jeewon Park, piano Four Impromptus, D. 935 (Op. 142) – February 26, 2017: Emanuel Ax, piano Nacht und Träume – February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Piano Trio in E-flat, Op. 100 – October 15, 2023: Lysander Piano Trio Rondo in A, D. 438 for violin and string quartet – September 23, 2018: Sean Lee, solo violin; Emily Smith, violin; Arnaud Sussman, violin; Matt Lipman, viola; Nick Canellakis, cello Shepherd on the Rock, Op. 129, D. 965, for soprano, clarinet and piano – September 27, 2009: Danielle de Niese, soprano; Stephen Williamson, clarinet; Ken Noda, piano Sonata in G major, D. 894, op. 78 (“Fantasie”) – January 19, 2020: Paul Lewis, piano Sonatas in C minor, D. 958; A major, D. 959; and B-flat major, D. 960 - November 17, 2024: Paul Lewis, piano String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, D. 804 – January 29, 2023, Danish String Quartet String Quintet in C, D. 956 – December 16, 2018: Emerson String Quartet with David Finckel, cello Trio No. 2 in E-flat, D. 929, Op. 99 – October 30, 2016: Wu Han, piano; Philip Setzer, violin; David Finckel, cello Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 (Death and the Maiden) – March 6, 2016: The Escher String Quartet Viola – February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Hermann Schulenburg (1886-1959) Gypsy Romance and Csardas for viola and piano – September 24, 2017: Paul Neubauer, viola; Arnaud Sussman, violin; Rafael Figueroa, cello; Michael Brown, piano Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942) Hot Sonata for alto saxophone and piano – Steven Banks, saxophone, Xak Bjerken, piano Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Fairy Tales, Op. 120, for clarinet, viola, and piano – September 27, 2009: Stephen Williamson, clarinet; Ken Noda, piano Fantasy in C, Op. 17 – March 8, 2026: Jonathan Biss, piano Quartet in E-flat, Op. 47, for piano and strings – October 19, 2008: Sheryl Staples, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Carter Brey, cello; Warren Jones, piano Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15 for piano – May 12, 2024: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano; Chee-Yun, violin; Brad Gemeinhardt Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105 for violin and piano – May 6, 2018: Clara Neubauer, violin; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano String Quartet No. 3 in A, Op. 41/3 – January 14, 2024: Goldmund Quartet Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915) Five Preludes for Solo Piano, Op. 16 (1894–1895) – February 8, 2015: David Finckel, cello; Wu Han, piano Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) Concertino in A minor, Op. 94 for two pianos – December 19, 2017: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano Sonata for Cello and Piano in d minor, Op. 40 (1934) – February 8, 2015: David Finckel, cello; Wu Han, piano String Quartet No. 7 in F-sharp minor, Op. 108 – January 4, 2015: Emerson String Quartet String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110 – December 16, 2018: Emerson Quartet String Quartet No. 12 in D-flat, Op. 133 – October 20, 2022 – Emerson String Quartet Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8 – October 30, 2016: Wu Han, piano; Philip Setzer, violin; David Finckel, cello Spirituals Good News; You Can Tell the World; Deep River; Ride on King Jesus – November 12, 2023: Angel Blue, soprano; Bryan Wagorn, piano Johann Strauss (1804–1849) Emperor Waltz for piano quintet, flute, and clarinet (arr. Schoenberg) – February 12, 2023 – Gloria Chien, piano, Benjamin Beilman and Alexi Kenney, violins, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola, Mihai Marica, cello, Yoobin Son, flute, Pascual Martinez-Forteza Richard Strauss (1864–1949) Five Songs – May 15, 2016: James Morris, bass-baritone; Ken Noda, piano Songs – November 12, 2023: Angel Blue, soprano; Bryan Wagorn, piano Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) Suite Italienne – December 15, 2019: Benjamin Beilman, violin; Andrew Tyson, piano The Soldier’s Tale – December 15, 2019: Benjamin Luxon, narrator; Benjamin Beilman, violin; Chris Coletti, trumpet; Demian Austin, trombone; Inn-Hyuck Cho, clarinet; Frank Morelli, bassoon; David J. Grossman, bass; Ian Rosenbaum, percussion; Anni Crofut, dancer-choreographer Three Movements from Petrushka – December 15, 2019: Andrew Tyson, piano Rentarō Taki (1879–1901) Kojo No Tsuki” (“The Moon over the Ruined Castle”) arr. Anne Akiko Meyers – April 14, 2019: Anne Akiko Meyers, violin; Jason Vieaux, guitar Francisco Tárrega (1852–1909) Recuerdos de la Alhambra – November 2, 2014: Sharon Isbin, guitar Capricho árabe for solo guitar – September 25, 2016: Jason Vieaux, guitar Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) The White Swan (Pas D’action from Swan Lake) – November 4, 2018: Sheryl Staples, violin; Lucille Chung, piano The Tallis Scholars Mother & Child – December 7, 2025: THE RENAISSANCE CHOIR: THE TALLIS SCHOLARS “MOTHER AND CHILD” Joaquín’s Turina (1882 - 1949) La oración de torero (The Bullfighter’s Prayer) – October 20, 2024: Modigliani Quartet Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) Come dal ciel precipita (from Macbeth) – May 15, 2016: James Morris, bass-baritone; Ken Noda, piano Ella giammai m’amó (from Don Carlo) – May 15, 2016: James Morris, bass-baritone; Rafael Figueroa, cello; Ken Noda, piano Quartet in E minor – October 27, 2019: Quartetto di Cremona Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887 – 1959) A Lenda do Caboclo – November 19, 2017: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) Concerto in B minor for 4 violins – September 26, 2021: Violin Soloists: James Thompson, Oliver Neubauer, Clara Neubauer, Jeanelle Brierley Flute Concerto in D, RV428, (The Goldfinch) – November 4, 2018: Yoobin Son, solo flute; Sheryl Staples, violin; Qian-Qian Li, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Eileen Moon, cello; Tim Cobb, bass; Alessio Bax, harpsichord Guitar Concerto in D, RV 93 – September 25, 2016: Jason Vieaux, guitar; Escher String Quartet The Four Seasons – September 26, 2021: Violin Soloists: Spring – Danbi Um; Summer – Nathan Meltzer; Autumn – Arnold Sussmann; Winter – Kevin Zhu Melinda Wagner Pan Journal for harp and string quartet – December 18, 2016: Mariko Anraku, harp; Emmanuel Ceysson, harp; David Chan, concertmaster; Catherine Ro, violin; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Rafael Figueroa, cello George Walker (1922-2018) Lyric for Strings – December 16, 2018: Emerson Quartet Anton Webern (1883-1945) Langsamer Satz – January 14, 2024: Goldmund Quartet Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) Italian Serenade for string quartet – September 25, 2016: Escher String Quartet John Williams / Anderson & Roe Three Star Wars Fantasies – January 31, 2010: Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe, piano Anonymous “Music from the Time of Cervantes” (arr. W. Kanengiser) – November 19, 2017: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2026 AT 4 PM A BRAHMSIAN FINALE CHEE-YUN, VIOLIN STERLING ELLIOTT, CELLO HENRY KRAMER, PIANO CHEE-YUN , VIOLIN STERLING ELLIOTT , CELLO HENRY KRAMER , PIANO “Chee-Yun was at once playful and passionate, her bow was consistently precise even at NASCAR speed.” — The Washington Post “Sterling Elliot is a star cellist who has risen beyond hopeful promise to astonishing maturity. If you see his name on an upcoming venue, take the leap, and hear what he is up to, no matter what the program offers.“ — The Millbrook Independent “Henry Kramer was as technically flawless and precise as a faceted diamond…” — Portland Press Herald ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS 2025-2026 SEASON September 14, 2025 “Singers” from the Met Orchestra October 12, 2025 Lawrence Brownlee, tenor November 2, 2025 Benjamin Appl, baritone; James Baillieu, piano December 7, 2025 The Tallis Scholars January 18, 2026 Benjamin Beilman, violin; Jonathan Swenson, cello; Orion Weiss, piano February 22, 2026 Radu Ratoi, accordion March 8, 2026 Jonathan Biss, piano April 26, 2026 Jerusalem String Quartet May 17, 2026 Chee-Yun, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello; Henry Kramer, piano Artist Roster Parlance Program Notes LOCATION At West Side Presbyterian Church 6 South Monroe Street Ridgewood, NJ 07450 For map and directions, click here . CONCERT AMENITIES Whee lchair Accessible Fr e e Parking for all concerts FEATURING BUY TICKETS Violinist Chee-Yun returns to Parlance Chamber Concerts following her unforgettable 2024 performance of Brahms’s Horn Trio — an interpretation so compelling that Artistic Director Michael Parloff invited her back for an afternoon devoted entirely to Brahms’s chamber music. She will be joined by two extraordinary young artists: Sterling Elliott , a cellist of “astonishing maturity” (The Millbrook Independent ), and Henry Kramer , a pianist whose Brahms playing has been called “thrilling and nearly flawless” (Cleveland Classical Review ). Their program will open with Brahms’s dramatic D-minor Violin Sonata , followed by the lyrical F-major Cello Sonata . The concert will culminate in a performance of Brahms’s towering B-minor Piano Trio , uniting all three artists in a powerful and expressive finale to Parlance Chamber Concert’s 18th season. PROGRAM Johannes Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 Program Notes Johannes Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 2 in F, Op. 99 Program Notes INTERMISSION Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B, Op. 8 Program Notes Watch violinist Chee-Yun’s scintillating performance of Brahms’s Horn Trio with hornist Brad Gemeinhardt and pianist Alessio Bax: Watch cellist Sterling Elliott play Elgar’s Cello Concerto in London: Watch pianist Henry Kramer play Ravel’s Alborada del Gracioso from Miroirs:

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Parlance Chamber Concerts. New Jersey Symphony and Classical Orchestra Style Concerts 2025-2026 SEASON THE JOY OF SINGING August 1, 2025 Dear Friends, Welcome to the 18th Season of Parlance Chamber Concerts! This season, Parlance Chamber Concerts celebrates the art of singing — the most universal form of musical expression, and the wellspring from which all music flows. From the soaring drama of opera to the intimate storytelling of Lieder to the luminous harmonies of the Renaissance chamber choir, vocal artistry will be a central thread running through our 18th season. Even our instrumental programs will highlight music shaped by the influence of the voice — works that sing without words, inspired by the human breath and vocal phrasing that are the foundation of musical expression. Please explore our 2025-2026 Season below. I look forward to seeing you again soon at Parlance Chamber Concerts! Michael Parloff Artistic Director CONCERTS 2025 – 2026 SUNDAY, May 17, 2026 AT 4 PM A BRAHMSIAN FINALE CHEE-YUN, VIOLIN STERLING ELLIOTT, CELLO HENRY KRAMER, PIANO Violinist Chee-Yun returns to Parlance Chamber Concerts following her unforgettable 2024 performance of Brahms’s Horn Trio — an interpretation so compelling that Artistic Director Michael Parloff invited her back for an afternoon devoted entirely to Brahms’s chamber music. She will be joined by two extraordinary young artists: Sterling Elliott , a cellist of “astonishing maturity” (The Millbrook Independent ), and Henry Kramer , a pianist whose Brahms playing has been called “thrilling and nearly flawless” (Cleveland Classical Review). Their program will open with Brahms’s dramatic D-minor Violin Sonata , followed by the lyrical F-major Cello Sonata . The concert will culminate in a performance of Brahms’s towering B-minor Piano Trio , uniting all three artists in a powerful and expressive finale to Parlance Chamber Concert’s 18th season. LEARN MORE Violinist Chee-Yun has “the kind of high-gloss tone that pulls sensuously at the listener's ear. ” — The New York Times Sterling Elliott is a star cellist who has risen beyond hopeful promise to astonishing maturity . — The Millbrook Independent “Henry Kramer’s pianism is as technically flawless and precise as a faceted diamond… ” — Portland Press Herald PAST CONCERTS 2025 – 2026 The members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra spend their careers listening to and collaborating with the world’s greatest singers. As a result, a vocal sensibility — lyrical, expressive, and flexible — deeply informs their approach to phrasing and musical line. PCC's Opening Concert will feature three of the Met’s principal instrumental "singers,” hornist Brad Gemeinhardt, bassoonist William Short, and clarinetist Anton Rist , performing some of Mozart’s greatest wind concertos with colleagues from the Met Orchestra, conducted by Artistic Director Michael Parloff. The program will also include Haydn’s Symphony No. 6, "Le Matin," designed to showcase the artistry of the virtuoso musicians in his handpicked orchestra at the court of Prince Paul Anton Esterházy. LEARN MORE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2025 AT 4 PM “SINGERS” FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA BRAD GEMEINHARDT, HORN WILLIAM SHORT, BASSOON ANTON RIST, CLARINET with MUSICIANS FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA MICHAEL PARLOFF, CONDUCTOR Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat, K. 495 Haydn: Symphony No. 6, in D, Hob. 1/6 (The Morning) Intermission Mozart: Bassoon Concerto in B-flat, K. 191 Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A, K. 622 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2025 AT 4 PM THE BEL CANTO TENOR LAWRENCE BROWNLEE, TENOR KEVIN J. MILLER, PIANO Tenor Lawrence Brownlee has been hailed by The New York Times as “an international star in the bel canto operatic repertory,” and described by The Boston Classical Review as “perhaps the most agile bel canto tenor on the scene today.” Brownlee is celebrated worldwide for the dazzling technique, expressive warmth, and vocal agility that he brings to the high-flying arias of this virtuosic repertoire. In this special recital appearance, he will perform a signature selection of beloved bel canto arias and songs — the very works that have made him one of the most sought-after opera singers of our time. “The singing is everything we’ve come to expect from the tenor. His instrument is glorious, his diction exemplary, and his delivery consistently vibrant and impassioned. Every note is voiced fearlessly.” — San Francisco Classical Voice LEARN MORE SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2025 AT 4 PM THE LIEDER BARITONE For Dieter: The Past and The Future BENJAMIN APPL, BARITONE JAMES BAILLIEU, PIANO PETER FRANCIS JAMES, NARRATOR BBC Music Magazine has called baritone Benjamin Appl “not only a singer of boundless promise, but already a great artist.” Appl will bring his warmly expressive voice and deeply personal artistry to a heartfelt tribute honoring his mentor, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, in the year of the legendary baritone’s centennial. Entitled “To Dieter: The Past and The Future,” this richly varied program will feature songs by Schubert, Brahms, Clara Schumann, Wolf, Tchaikovsky, Britten, Barber, and others — composers who shaped Fischer-Dieskau’s legacy and continue to inspire Appl’s own musical journey. He will be joined by his superb recital partner, pianist James Baillieu . This event will include narration by acclaimed actor Peter Francis James. LEARN MORE SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2025 AT 4 PM THE RENAISSANCE CHOIR Mother and Child THE TALLIS SCHOLARS For over five decades, The Tallis Scholars , led by founder and director Peter Phillips , have reigned as the world’s leading interpreters of Renaissance sacred music. Renowned for their purity of tone, exquisite blend, and deep musical insight, the ensemble has brought the glories of early choral music to audiences across the globe. Their program, Mother and Child , offers a profoundly moving meditation on motherhood, mystery, and the divine. Spanning five centuries, the all-English program features Thomas Tallis’s magnificent Missa Puer natus, William Byrd’s tender Votive Mass of the Virgin, John Taverner and John Nesbett’s intricate Renaissance gems, and Benjamin Britten’s radiant Hymn to the Virgin. Together, these works form a luminous arc that connects England’s sacred choral tradition from the Tudor era to the modern age. LEARN MORE “It may surely be said that the Tallis Scholars are the consummate vocal ensemble. ” — The Guardian, March 2025 “The chamber choir’s ethereal beauty of sound and control of long phrases came to the fore.” — Chicago Classical Review, December 10, 2024 "The Tallis Scholars were welcomed the minute they stepped onto the stage with tumultuous applause. The Tallis Scholars, led by director and founder Peter Phillips, immediately proceeded to justify that tumultuous applause ." — Vancouver Presents, April 23, 2024 SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2026 AT 4 PM THE VIRTUOSO OPERA FANTASY BENJAMIN BEILMAN, VIOLIN JONATHAN SWENSON, CELLO ORION WEISS, PIANO This thrilling program showcases three of today’s most exciting young artists — violinist Benjamin Beilman, cellist Jonathan Swensen, and pianist Orion Weiss — in a dazzling celebration of operatic fantasies. Drawing on melodies from such beloved operas as Mozart’s The Magic Flute , and Bizet’s Carmen , the program features instrumental works that transform iconic operatic themes into virtuosic showpieces. The concert promises to be an electrifying homage to opera’s enduring influence on instrumental brilliance. The program will include works by Beethoven-Mozart, Wagner-Liszt, Massenet, Bizet-Hubay, Fauré, and Mendelssohn LEARN MORE Violinist Benjamin Beilman is “a prodigious artist , who combines the gift of utmost sound perfection and a deep, delicate, intense, simmering sensitivity ” — Le Monde (Paris) “Cellist Jonathan Swensen proves to be a mature artist with a bold, rounded sound and the chops to back it up. ” — Clive Paget, Musical America "The gods of music must be smiling upon pianist Orion Weiss. Here was playing of inspired virtuosity, but with bountiful thought behind the technical strength. ” — The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2026 AT 4 PM THE VIRTUOSO ACCORDION RADU RATOI, ACCORDION Parlance Chamber Concerts is proud to present its first-ever accordion recital, featuring the charismatic young Moldovan virtuoso Radu Ratoi . A rising star on the international stage, Ratoi has been lauded for his “breathtaking precision and profound musicality” (Neue Musikzeitung ) and is widely recognized as one of the most innovative accordionists of his generation. With equal command of classical masterworks and bold contemporary repertoire, he is transforming perceptions of what the accordion can be. In this captivating program, Ratoi will perform his own dazzling transcriptions of works by Bach, Rameau, Liszt , and Saint-Saëns , alongside striking modern works that reveal the instrument’s full expressive and technical range. A trailblazer and a poet of the accordion, Ratoi promises an unforgettable musical experience . LEARN MORE SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 2026 AT 4 PM JONATHAN BISS PIANO MUSIC BY MOZART, JANÁĊEK, AND SCHUMANN Pianist Jonathan Biss is internationally acclaimed for his impeccable taste, formidable technique, and profound musical insight. He has performed as a soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras and, since 2018, has served as Co-Artistic Director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival alongside Mitsuko Uchida. In his thoughtfully curated program, Jonathan Biss charts an expressive journey through three centuries of piano masterpieces — from Mozart’s stormy Sonata in C minor, K. 457, to Janáček’s early 20th-century nostalgia in On an Overgrown Path , and the sweeping Romantic passion of Schumann’s Fantasy in C, envisioned as a coded love letter to his beloved wife-to-be, Clara Wieck. LEARN MORE “impeccable taste and a formidable technique” — The New Yorker Mozart: Sonata in C minor, K. 457 Janáček: On an Overgrown Path (selections) Intermission Mozart: Sonata in F, K. 533/494 Schumann:Fantasy in C, Op. 17 SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2026 AT 4 PM THE JERUSALEM STRING QUARTET MUSIC BY HAYDN, SHULAMIT RAN, AND BEETHOVEN Renowned for their “amazing technical finesse and overwhelming musical insight” (BBC Music Magazine), the Jerusalem String Quartet returns to Parlance Chamber Concerts for an expressively far-ranging program featuring works by Haydn, Beethoven , and Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Shulamit Ran . Celebrated for their warm, balanced sound and eloquent ensemble unity, the Quartet brings a rare blend of tradition, individuality, and emotional depth to both classical masterworks and contemporary voices. LEARN MORE “Consummately brilliant playing throughout, combining amazing technical finesse with overwhelming musical insight…. ” — BBC Music Magazine Joseph Haydn: Quartet in B-flat, Op. 76, No. 4 (“Sunrise”) Shulamit Ran: Betwixt and Between – String Quartet No. 4 Intermission Ludwig van Beethoven:Quartet in B-flat, Op. 130 ABOUT PARLANCE CHAMBER CONCERTS VIDEO INTRO TO PARLANCE CHAMBER CONCERTS Michael Parloff introduces the mission and history of PCC. Audience members share their experiences. LEARN MORE HIGHLIGHTS FROM PCC’S 17TH SEASON Enjoy this 5-minute video recap of memorable moments from 2024-25, including performances by pianist Paul Lewis, cellist Steven Isserlis, flutist Denis Bouriakov, and others. MEET THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE SEASON 18 YEARS OF GREAT MUSIC MAKING COVID-19 Info for Parlance Chamber Concerts attendees: Read more here.

May 17, 2026: Chee-Yun, violin; Henry Kramer, piano Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 May 17, 2026: Chee-Yun, violin; Henry Kramer, piano In 1886 Brahms spent the first of three idyllic summers in the village of Hofstetten in the Swiss mountains where the Aare flows into Lake Thun. He wrote to his publisher Simrock of the wonderful view from his lodging—on one hand the ancient town and castle and on the other the amazing array of mountains of the Bernese Oberland. These inspiring surroundings contributed to his immense productivity that summer: he composed his F major Cello Sonata, his C minor Piano Trio, two of his most beloved songs (“Immer leiser” and “Wie Melodien zieht es mir”), his A major Violin Sonata, and all but the finishing touches of the present D minor Sonata. Unlike that summer’s other three chamber works, which Simrock published the following year, the D minor Sonata remained in manuscript until Brahms completed it during his third Hofstetten summer. In October 1888 he sent the Sonata and over twenty new vocal works to his good friend Elisabet von Herzogenberg, who wrote back in ecstatic terms about the Sonata. To Clara Schumann, another of his closest circle, he wrote that he then felt confident enough to have the work sent on to her—thus braving Clara’s disapproval at not receiving it first—saying she might try it out with Naret Koning and with celebrated violinist Joseph Joachim, their longtime mutual friend. With typical self-doubt he added that if she did not like it, not to bother trying it with Joachim, but send it back. Clara often had rheumatic pains at the time, so she first let her daughter Elise play it through with Koning, pronouncing it “magnificent” and “ravishing” in her diary. Clara played the work privately with Koning in Frankfurt on December 8, 1888, and Brahms tried it out himself at the home of his physician friend Theodor Billroth in Vienna four days later. The composer then gave the first public performance with violinist Jenö Hubay on December 21 in Budapest, where he had gone to conduct his Fourth Symphony. After playing the Sonata again with Hugo Heermann in Frankfurt on January 11, 1889, Brahms performed the work with Joachim in Vienna on February 13. When the Sonata appeared in print that spring, Brahms dedicated it to conductor Hans von Bülow, champion of Brahms’s orchestral works. Thirty-five years earlier Bülow had been the first person, aside from Brahms himself, to perform one of the composer’s works publicly (his Opus 1 Piano Sonata). The D minor Violin Sonata, Brahms’s third and last, shows remarkable scope but also great concision. He cast the work in four movements rather than the three of his G major and A major Sonatas, but so concentrated are his methods that it lasts just over twenty minutes, making it shorter than the G major and the shortest of his four-movement chamber works, except, perhaps, for the C minor Trio. The sense of breadth arises out of his invoking such a wide dramatic range, from intimacy to brilliance. The first movement opens sotto voce (in a hushed voice) with the violin singing high above a restless accompaniment. His quiet, extended theme provides a great foil for the passionate eruption that ensues before the gentle second theme. But the movement’s most striking feature is its development section, which takes place over an insistent pulsing low note in the piano—his longest pedal point since the celebrated one in the third movement fugue of his Requiem. This harmonic anchoring of what would traditionally be a harmonically unstable section led to his ingenious transfer of that adventurousness into the recapitulation. The gorgeous slow movement owes its economy to one of Brahms’s simplest forms—basically a melody and its elaborated restatement. Yet the spacious, lyrical line and the luxurious harmonic flow leave no impression of terseness. Brahms sweetens the intensity of each section’s peak with the violin playing parallel thirds, a sonority he loved, with the added phrase of descending thirds in the second section casting a glow that subsides like a musical sunset. The scherzo begins with a quintessentially Brahmsian combination of playfulness and mystery. An impassioned outburst midway through the movement suggests a contrasting trio, which instead turns out to develop ideas from the first section. The return of the playful opening contains some charming variants and a “puff-of smoke” ending. Brahms’s finale is the most impassioned and vehement movement of any of his violin sonatas, despite his contrasting of the turbulent main theme with a more subdued chorale-like idea begun by the piano alone. The movement’s dramatic qualities have led some to speculate that it may have roots in one of the destroyed sonatas of his youth, written around the time his friendship with Joachim began. The most striking structural feature is the entrance of what seems to be a restatement of the dramatic opening in the home key but which soon turns into development, boasting some of Brahms’s most persistent syncopation. When the recapitulation proper begins, Brahms cleverly picks up just where that earlier restatement left off. His fiery coda demands virtuosity and all-out sound from both players. —©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

May 17, 2026: Sterling Elliott, cello; Henry Kramer, piano Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Cello Sonata No. 2 in F, Op. 99 May 17, 2026: Sterling Elliott, cello; Henry Kramer, piano Brahms composed the Second Cello Sonata in his Swiss summer retreat at Thun in 1886. The extraordinarily productive month of August also saw the composition of his A major Violin Sonata, the C minor Piano Trio, and several songs. As he wrote the Cello Sonata, Brahms had in mind the masterful playing of Robert Hausmann, cellist of the Joachim Quartet. Hausmann’s ability to make anything sound good gave Brahms free rein to ignore certain idiomatic constraints and make technical demands, such as quick fingered tremolos on lower strings and uncharacteristic leaps. Hausmann and Brahms gave the first public performance in Vienna on November 24 of that year. Though the work is now acclaimed as a masterpiece of Brahms’s later style combined with some of the ardent pathos of his youthful works, it received a sharply negative review by Hugo Wolf, a notorious Brahms detractor, which is famously quoted in English translation by Nicolas Slonimsky in his Lexicon of Musical Invective : To write down, to print, to have performed anything like the new Cello Sonata by Herr Dr. Johannes Brahms and not to be infected by this madness is no longer a trifle—and upon my heart, I am beginning to acquire respect for myself. . . . What is then nowadays music, harmony, melody, rhythm, meaning, form, when this rigmarole seriously pretends to be regarded as music? If Herr Dr. Johannes Brahms intends to mystify his admirers with this newest work, if he wants to make fun of their brainless veneration, then it is of course something else, and we marvel at Herr Brahms as the greatest bluffer of this century and of all future millennia. Dramatic leaps in the cello and tremolos and broken chords in the piano characterize the agitated main theme of the first movement. Tremolos for both instruments turn out to provide much of the texture of the movement. Brahms constantly and characteristically undermines the movement’s 3/4 meter, beginning as early as the seventh and eighth measures as the cello leaps into high register with a syncopated variant of a hemiola (two beats in the time of three). The slow movement, with its singular marking Adagio affettuoso, is an unquiet and explosive one. One of its most surprising features is its key—F-sharp major, or the Neapolitan of the tonic F major, which led some biographers to suggest, without hard evidence, that this could have been the discarded slow movement of Brahms’s E minor Cello Sonata. Its unexpected harmonic manipulations, however, make it highly unlikely that Brahms could have written this movement twenty-one years earlier. Further, precedents do exist for unusual sequences of keys of movements—in the music of Haydn, for example, one of Brahms’s revered predecessors. Just as surprising is the secondary area in F minor. Prevalent in this movement but a rarity in Brahms’s works for solo strings is his frequent use of pizzicato (plucked strings) in high and low registers. The stormy, shadowy scherzo contains one of Brahms’s most taxing piano parts. Elisabet von Herzogenberg, a fine amateur pianist from whom Brahms often sought reactions during this period, liked the work immensely, but said that she would need to hear Brahms himself play the difficult third movement. The melody of the contrasting trio section is one of Brahms’s most ravishing. Though the trio begins in F, it again touches briefly on the F-sharp major key of the preceding movement. The finale relaxes the mood with a brief, cheerful rondo, into which Brahms slips one darker episode in minor that features sighing figures. Brahms recalls the rondo theme in G-flat major at its third appearance, surely a link to its enharmonic equivalent, F-sharp major, of the slow movement. Karl Geiringer’s examination of the original manuscript of the F major Cello Sonata (in the possession of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna) revealed that the last movement “seems to have been written with quite peculiar speed, as though the master could hardly write fast enough to put the rush of ideas on paper.” Such speed is entirely in keeping with that miraculously productive month of August. —©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

April 14, 2019: Anne Akiko Meyers, violin; Jason Vieaux, guitar JOHN CORIGLIANO (BORN 1938) Lullaby for Natalie April 14, 2019: Anne Akiko Meyers, violin; Jason Vieaux, guitar One of the most versatile, compelling, and honored composers of the last fifty years, John Corigliano was born into a musical family—his father a longtime concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic and his mother a fine pianist. He studied with Otto Luening at Columbia University, Vittorio Giannini at the Manhattan School of Music, and privately with Paul Creston. He himself has taught at the Manhattan School of Music, worked for radio and television stations, arranged rock tunes, and even written music for commercials. He is on the faculty at the Juilliard School and holds the position of Distinguished Professor of Music at Lehman College, City University of New York, which established a composition scholarship in his name. He is also one of the few living composer to have a string quartet named after him. Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1, composed in response to the AIDS crisis during his residency with the Chicago Symphony, won the Grawemeyer Award and two Grammy Awards. He received the Metropolitan Opera’s first commission in thirty years for The Ghosts of Versailles , which won raves and a 1992 International Classical Music Award. His Second Symphony earned the Pulitzer Prize in 2001, and his best-known work, the film score for The Red Violin , won an Academy Award in 1999 and spawned several pieces, including his Violin Concerto. Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan (2000, rescored for orchestra and amplified soprano in 2004) won two Grammy Awards in 2008. The same year Evelyn Glennie premiered his Conjurer for percussion and string orchestra, which won a Grammy in 2013. Embracing many influences, Corigliano writes music that is mostly tonal, sometimes serial, often lyrical, frequently employing brilliant instrumental effects—always aiming to engage and captivate the listener. He composed his lovely Lullaby for Natalie in 2010 at the request of Anne Akiko Meyers’s husband to celebrate the birth of their first as-yet-unborn daughter. Corigliano writes, “After Natalie’s birth, I placed her name in the title, and Anne sent me a video of her playing it for her baby in a crib. The baby, awake at first, was asleep at the end, so either the five-minute lullaby had bored her to sleep or I had lived up to the promise of my title. I will never know.” The tender melody of Lullaby for Natalie features a sweet, rocking three-note gesture, almost as if singing the word “lull-a-by,” which gently weaves its way throughout the piece. The occasional slightly dark harmonies in the outer sections soon melt back into the soothing flow, and a throatier melody marks the middle section, though it too is lulling. Three times a rising scale floats into the stratosphere to bring on the tender melody in slight variants, the last time shortened and drifting off ethereally. Anne Akiko Meyers recorded the original violin and piano version of Lullaby for Natalie with Akira Eguchi on her Mirror in Mirror album and Corigliano’s later version for violin and orchestra with Leonard Slatkin and the London Symphony Orchestra on her American Masters CD. Andy Poxon (see the note for Corelli’s “La Folia” Sonata) artfully arranged the piece for violin and guitar. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

2021-2022 ARTIST ROSTER ISABELLA BIGNASCA, VIOLA Michael Brown, piano DAVID J. GROSSMAN, BASS PAUL JACOBS, ORGAN JAMES THOMPSON, VIOLIN PAUL NEUBAUER, VIOLA (2021) FRED SHERRY, CELLO ZUKERMAN TRIO KRISTIN LEE, VIOLIN MICHAEL PARLOFF, lecturer PAOLO BORDIGNON, HARPSICHORD NICHOLAS CANELLAKIS, CELLO MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN, PIANO NATHAN MELTZER, VIOLIN CLARA NEUBAUER, VIOLIN JUHO POHJONEN, PIANO ARNAUD SUSSMANN, VIOLIN PAUL HUANG, VIOLIN ANNA POLONSKY, PIANO JEANELLE BRIERLEY, VIOLIN ESCHER STRING QUARTET SIHAO HE, CELLO JOEL NOYES, CELLO OLIVER NEUBAUER, VIOLIN (2021) ROMAN RABINOVICH, PIANO DANBI UM, VIOLIN KEVIN ZHU, VIOLIN SCHUMANN STRING QUARTET

March 13, 2022: Kristin Lee, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Michael Brown, piano MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937) Piano Trio in A minor March 13, 2022: Kristin Lee, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Michael Brown, piano The idea of writing a piano trio had been on Ravel’s mind for several years before he actually started composing it. He went so far as to tell his friend Maurice Delage before he had even begun to write, “My Trio is finished. I only need the themes for it.” Humor aside, Ravel had undoubtedly given much thought to the architecture of the work and to the possibilities inherent in the piano, violin, and cello combination. He wrote much of the Trio in the solitude and serenity of his retreat at St. Jean-de-Luz on the Basque coast beginning in 1913, but made little progress until the following year. On March 25, 1914, he wrote to Cipa Godebski that he had completed the first movement and did not want his inspiration to grow cold. He ran into trouble, however, complaining on July 21 to Mme. Casella (whose husband Alfredo would play the piano part in the premiere) that “the Trio has not progressed for three weeks now, and I’m sick of it.” The announcement of France’s entry into the First World War on August 2 shook Ravel tremendously. He was anxious to do his part for France, but he declared, “I want to finish my Trio before joining up.” He wrote to Delage on August 4: If you only knew how I suffer. . . . I just keep working so as not to hear anything. Yes I am working with the persistence and concentration of a madman. But suddenly the hypocrisy of this conduct overwhelms me and I begin to sob over my note paper. When I go downstairs and my mother sees me, naturally I have to show a serene and, if possible, a smiling face. Shall I be able to keep this up? It has lasted four days already since the alarm gongs began. Ravel kept up his frantic work pace, and by August 29 the Trio was completed. He then traveled to Bayonne, the nearest recruiting center to sign up for active duty, but was turned down because he was two kilograms underweight. He thought that his small stature might make him suitable as a fighter pilot, but this too came to nothing. He helped care for wounded soldiers in St. Jean-de-Luz, later drove for the motor transport corps, and continued to compose. The music of the Trio in no way reveals its wartime connection. The first movement, built on a free sonata form, opens with a theme that Ravel in his autobiographical sketch called “Basque in color.” He drew its distinctive rhythm from Zaspiak Bat, a concerto on Basque themes that he never completed. The juxtaposition of this asymmetrically grouped rhythm and the four-square rhythm of the piano left-hand creates a charming effect. The title of the second movement, “Pantoum,” refers to a form of poetry of Malaysian derivation used by Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, and Paul Verlaine, in which the second and fourth stanzas of a verse are repeated as the first and third stanzas of the next verse. Ravel suggested an association with the deferred repetition in the verse form by carrying material from the scherzo on into the trio section. Ravel seems to delight in the mismatched accents of the scherzo material in the strings vying with the chorale-like theme in the piano. Or, as Ravel biographer H. H. Stuckenschmidt suggests, the composer may simply have chosen the title “Pantoum” because he liked the sound and exoticism of the word! For the third movement Ravel turned to an old musical form—the passacaglia—perhaps in honor of his old counterpoint teacher André Gédalge, to whom the Trio is dedicated. Constructed in a huge arc, the movement presents eleven statements of the eight-bar passacaglia theme that build in volume and ascend in pitch until the central climax before making an equally impressive descent. The elaborate rondo-form finale alternates between 5/4 and 7/4 meter—another Basque connection? The opening theme immediately showcases Ravel’s imaginative trio scoring with its violin arpeggios in harmonics, double tremolos in the cello, and muted chords in the piano all creating a novel color. This opening suggests a thematic kinship with the start of the first movement by turning its contour upside down (inversion). The Trio’s premiere took place on January 28, 1915, at a Société Musicale Indépendante concert with pianist Alfredo Casella, violinist Gabriele Willaume, and cellist Louis Feuillard. The critics responded favorably, but the Trio, now considered one of the few great twentieth-century piano trios, attracted little attention; the War no doubt delayed its fair recognition. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

LEIGH MESH, BASS Associate Principal Bass, joined the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 1993. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, he has taught master classes at the New World Symphony in Miami, the Cincinnati Conservatory, the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Mesh has performed regularly at the Verbier Music Festival, and with the MET Chamber Ensemble, the Caramoor Virtuosi, and the Brentano and Tokyo String Quartets. He lives with his wife and two children in New York, and pursues cycling and skiing whenever he can. Mr. Mesh is an exclusive artist for Thomastik-Infeld Strings.

ELAINE DOUVAS, OBOE Elaine Douvas has been principal oboe of the Metropolitan Opera since 1977 and was principal oboe of the Atlanta Symphony for four years prior. Her career highlights include the Strauss Oboe Concerto with the MET Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, James Levine conducting. In 2017, Douvas was invited to serve as Chairman of the Jury for the Munich ARD International Oboe Competition. She has recorded several solo CDs on Boston Records, Oboe Classics, Music Minus One, and one with her quartet “Pleasure is the Law”: flute, oboe, cello, and piano. Equally devoted to her career as a teacher, Ms. Douvas has served on the oboe faculty of The Juilliard School since 1982, The Mannes College of Music since 1981, and the Bard College Conservatory since 2009. In her capacity as Chairman of the Woodwind Department at Juilliard, she teaches career development and attitudes for career longevity! Her students hold positions in numerous orchestras and university faculties. In the summers she is a long-time artist-faculty member of the Aspen Music Festival and School, and she has given master classes and week-long seminars across the USA, as well as Canada, England, and China. Douvas lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey with her husband Robert Sirinek, former trumpeter with the Met and Orchestra Manager since 1986. They have two grown daughters, Portia and Margot, both pursuing careers in medicine. For over twenty years she has devoted her spare time to figure skating and has passed eleven USFSA tests in free-style and “moves in the field”.