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CMS Two Artists in the News

Awards and Honors Bestowed on CMS Two Artists

The CMS Two program has an excellent track record of identifying superb talent! CMS Two members, former and current, are frequently the winners of major competitions, performing in significant venues, and more. Several current and future members are in the news:

CMS Two ensemble the Daedalus Quartet was one of the recipients of the prestigious Martin E. Segal Award for 2007.

The Segal Award was established in 1986, at the time of Mr. Segal’s retirement as Chairman of Lincoln Center, in order to highlight and reward the excellent work of up-and-coming stars connected to Lincoln Center’s various constituents. Winners receive a monetary award and are honored at a luncheon where they meet with Mr. Segal and are presented to the Lincoln Center community and the press.

Previous CMS Two artists who have received the Martin E. Segal Award include the Brentano String Quartet, the Borromeo String Quartet, and pianist Jonathan Biss.

Read more from the Daedalus on our blog, www.IntermissionImpossible.org


Violinist Arnaud Sussmann has won the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition in Poughkeepsie, NY, a yearly competition for violin, viola, and cello. Here is the description from their website:

The competition began in 1966 under the direction of Maestro Claude Monteux, then the HVP artistic director/conductor. It was originally started as a way to find string players for the orchestra. The competition has always attracted some of the finest conservatory string players in the world. Many former winners have gone on to illustrious classical music careers. Previous notables include Marcus Thompson ‘67, violist (Boston Chamber Players)- CMS Artists Fred Sherry ‘68, cellist , Ani Kavafian ‘73, violinist, Adela Pena ‘85, violinist (member of the Eroica Trio) former CMS Two member Judith Ingolfsson ‘96, violinist (1998 Indianapolis Int’l Violin Competition winner- soloist). Current CMS Two member David Kimalso won this competition in 2005.

CMS Artist Fred Sherry was a member of the Jury, as well as Sylvia Rosenberg, Diane Chaplin and Marka Gustavsson.
Arnaud says, “I won the first prize after playing 3 rounds.
The competition was open to the public for all the rounds. The repertoire included some solo Bach, a Mozart Concerto, Brahms sonata, and a romantic concerto (Brahms for me). I got a nice cash prize as well as a solo date with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic in December 2007.”

Future CMS Two ensemble The Jupiter String Quartet has won Chamber Music America’s biennial Cleveland Quartet Award, given in honor of “a rising young string quartet whose artistry demonstrates that it is in the process of establishing a major career.” In winning this prestigious honor, it will become the sixth recipient of the award. All five previous winners of the Cleveland Quartet Award — the Brentano, Borromeo, Miami, Pacifica, and Miro quartets — have also been members of Chamber Music Society Two.


In other CMS Two news, bassoonist Peter Kolkay has been awarded the Carlos Surinach Prize by the BMI Foundation for his commitment to contemporary American music. The prize was awarded in conjunction with a commissioned work for bassoon and piano by composer Judah Adashi, which Peter will record and premiere in April 2007.


Pianist Gilles Vonsattel was a prizewinner in the international piano competition Concours de Geneve. Gilles reports that he is thrilled to be the top prize winner:

The competition likes to refer to me as the “top prize winner” since I didn’t win first, but won second (missed the 2/3rds majority rule for 1st prize by 1 vote), the audience prize, and the CD recording contract prize.

I get representation in Europe, and the CD will be recorded next year and released on the PanClassics label, a subsidiary of SoundArts. It will feature a concerto with the OCG (Orchestre de Chambre de Genève) and will be recorded in Victoria Hall next June, one of the best halls in Switzerland. The rest of the CD will feature solo repertoire of my choice. I’m particularly excited about the CD, more than any of the rest of this, since I don’t have one at the moment and this sounds like a great opportunity to put some unusual repertoire out there.


Fresh on the heels of his excellent showing in the Tertis competition, violist David Kim was recently lauded with an Honorable Mention at the
Walter H. Naumburg Foundation 2006 Viola Competition. Forty violists entered the competition, and nine were invited to compete in the finals. Among the jury members was CMS Artist Paul Neubauer. David reports that the competition was extremely eventful… but maybe not in the way he anticipated:

During the semi-final round, which was held at the Met Museum, I broke a string during the Gigue of Bach’s sixth cello suite. I ran backstage to change it, but realized that I had every other string except for the one I needed. So the jury took their lunch break, and I jumped in a taxi all the way to Lincoln Center and bought a string from a local shop. However, when I returned to the Museum, I realized that the sales attendant gave me a VIOLIN string by mistake! By that time, I was completely panicked and decided to wait for the next competitor, who thankfully had an extra string. The funny thing is that when we were on our way to Museum for the competition, my pianist and I were discussing how, for once, there had been no disasters thus far, which is extremely unusual for me. Little did I know…


Violinist Susie Park recently joined the Eroica Trio, and the new trio made their first New York appearance recently at
The Rockefeller University. The appointment of Susie as violinist was the first personnel change in this long-standing trio.

CMS is proud of its CMS Two members!

Press Relations

For Press related inquiries, members of the media should contact Marlisa Monroe by email.