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CMS EdWeb

Interactive media to enhance your understanding and appreciation of chamber music.

Most Recent Video:


Master Class with the Orion String Quartet


Taped March 12, 2009.

Recently celebrating their 20th anniversary as a quartet and their 10th season with CMS, the four extraordinary members of the Orion String Quartet coach two young ensembles in works of Brahms and Smetana.

Accompanying materials for this lecture can be downloaded here (Adobe Acrobat required):
Master Class Program

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Additional Master Classes from the 2008-09 Season



Master Class: Angela Hewitt

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Acclaimed as the pre-eminent Bach pianist of our time, Angela Hewitt explores interpretation of Bach keyboard masterpieces with a group of outstanding young pianists.

Accompanying materials for this lecture can be downloaded here (Adobe Acrobat required):
Master Class Program

Taped December 11, 2008.


Master Class: Menahem Pressler

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One of the most beloved chamber musicians of our time, Menahem Pressler is best known as the pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, which he helped found in 1955 and anchored until their final season in 2008. This class provides an insider’s view of his extraordinary work as teacher and coach.

Accompanying materials for this lecture can be downloaded here (Adobe Acrobat required):
Master Class Program

Taped March 18, 2008.


Master Class: Daniel Hope

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The art of interpretation and fine points of technique are revealed as CMS Artist Daniel Hope coaches young chamber musicians works of Schubert, Debussy, and Brahms.

Accompanying materials for this master class can be downloaded here (Adobe Acrobat required):
Master Class Program

Taped October 6, 2008.


Inside Chamber Music with Bruce Adolphe


Olivier Messiaen—Nature and Theology

Assisted by Benjamin Hochman, piano; Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Julie Albers, cello; Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet; and Preeti Vasudevan, dancer

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This first lecture of a series on the evolution of modernism in music focuses on Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time”.

Accompanying materials for this lecture can be downloaded here (Adobe Acrobat required):
Lecture Program
Musical Exerpts
Indian Classical Rhythms


Claude Debussy: Languorous Ecstasy


Assisted by the Escher String Quartet

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A continuing exploration of modernism in music focuses on the musical innovations of Claude Debussy including a performance of excerpts from his String Quartet.

Accompanying materials for this master class can be downloaded here (Adobe Acrobat required):
Debussy Vocabulary and String Quartet Excerpts
Lecture Program


Leoš Janáček: A Chord is Alive


Assisted by Benjamin Hochman, piano
and Sophie Shao, cello

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This lecture on modernism in music focuses on Leoš Janáček and includes a performance of his “Fairy Tales” for cello and piano.

Accompanying materials for this lecture can be downloaded here (Adobe Acrobat required):
Lecture Program


Alexander Scriabin: Musical Mysticism


Assisted by Adrienne Kim, piano

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The idiosyncratic music of Russian composer Alexander Scriabin is the focus of this lecture on musical modernism. The presentation includes a performance of Scriabin’s Poème-nocturne for Piano.

Accompanying materials for this lecture can be downloaded here (Adobe Acrobat required):
Lecture Program
Scriabin Handout


Chamber Music Essentials with Orli Shaham


Assembling the Ingredients

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The first installment of a series devoted to understanding the basics of music. Lecturer and pianist Orli Shaham discusses the foundations of melody. The presentation includes violinists Arnaud Sussmann and Harumi Rhodes performing five violin duos by Bela Bartok.

Accompanying materials for this lecture can be downloaded here (Adobe Acrobat required):
Glossary of Tempo Markings
Basic Music Terms


Tools of the Trade

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In this second of a series devoted to understanding the basics of music, lecturer and pianist Orli Shaham discusses harmony and form. The presentation includes violinist Arnaud Sussmann and Orli Shaham performing Tzigane by Maurice Ravel.

Accompanying materials for this lecture can be downloaded here (Adobe Acrobat required):
Key Concepts of Basic Harmony


Weights & Measures

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In this installment of a series devoted to understanding the basics of music, lecturer and pianist Orli Shaham discusses sonata form. The presentation includes a performance of the first movement of Brahms’s Trio in B Major with pianist Benjamin Hochman, violinist Arnaud Sussamann, and cellist Julie Albers.


Musical Feasts for Intimate Gatherings

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In this final installment of a four-part series devoted to understanding the basics of music, lecturer and pianist Orli Shaham investigates how members of an ensemble interpret, communicate, and collaborate to create an exciting performance. `The presentation includes a performance of excerpts from Mozart’s String Quintet in D Major with the Escher String Quartet and violist Mark Holloway.

Accompanying materials for this lecture can be downloaded here (Adobe Acrobat required):
CME Program
Mozart Manuscript



Click to download a Bibliography and Discography of sources cited in the Chamber Music Essentials Lectures.