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The Chamber Music Society Of Lincoln Center @ Wigmore Hall

North America’s highly-esteemed Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) makes its UK debut in late November as part of an exciting new cultural partnership with Wigmore Hall. With three evening performances (23, 26 and 27 November) of contrasting repertoire, CMS brings to London audiences a mixture of familiar works as well as pieces by three young contemporary composers.

The first concert combines classic and modern German repertoire, with works by Beethoven, Schumann and Jörg Widmann (b.1973), while the second performance presents a range of music by Russian-born composers Arensky, Lera Auerbach (b.1973), Shostakovich and Rachmaninov. The final concert of the series includes Bruch, Brahms and the UK premiere of Clarinet Trio, co-commissioned by Wigmore Hall and CMS from the American composer Pierre Jalbert (b.1967), and written specifically for this residency.

CMS is one of eleven constituents of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the largest arts complex in the world. Founded in 1969 by Charles Wadsworth, CMS is now America’s leading repertory company for chamber music and is made up of a wide roster of artists and guest artists. CMS has commissioned over 150 new works from a diverse and distinguished array of composers, including Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, John Corigliano, George Crumb, Alberto Ginastera, Keith Jarrett, Oliver Knussen and Gian Carlo Menotti.

In 2004 cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han were appointed Artistic Directors of CMS. Soloists in their own right, they perform as a duo and are also the founding artistic directors of Music@Menlo, a chamber music festival and institute in Silicon Valley, California. In both these capacities, as well as through a multitude of other education initiatives, this husband and wife team have achieved renown for their passionate commitment to nurturing the careers of countless young artists. In addition, David Finckel has served as cellist with the Emerson String Quartet since 1976.

“We are delighted to establish a cross-Atlantic partnership with one of the leading venues in the United States, and a Chamber Music Society whose mission is so directly aligned to that of Wigmore Hall. We hope in the future to be able to continue to collaborate creatively with CMS on the performance, composition and championing of chamber music at the very highest level.” John Gilhooly, Director, Wigmore Hall

The Chamber Music Society Of Lincoln Centre @ Wigmore Hall series runs at Wigmore Hall on 23, 26 and 27 November 2011.