Mendelssohn: Quintet No. 2 in B-flat major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, Op. 87
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Sean Lee
Danbi Um
Paul Neubauer
Mihai Marica
With performances described by the New York Times as “breathtakingly beautiful,” violinist Sean Lee has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for over a decade, following his participation in CMS’s Bowers Program. A recipient of Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant, Lee has performed as a soloist with orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony, and Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice. Originally from Los Angeles, Lee studied with Robert Lipsett of the Colburn Conservatory and legendary violinist Ruggiero Ricci before studying at the Juilliard School with his longtime mentor, violinist Itzhak Perlman. Lee performs on violins made by Samuel Zygmuntowicz in 1995 and David Bague in 1999, and a bow made circa 1890 by Joseph Arthur Vigneron.
Praised by The Strad as an “utterly dazzling” artist, violinist Danbi Um appears internationally as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She is a Silver Medalist at the Menuhin International Violin Competition, prizewinner of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition and the Naumburg International Violin Competition, and recipient of the Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant. In 2026, she was appointed Assistant Professor of Violin at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Recent and upcoming engagements include performances with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Ridgewood Symphony, and the Phillips Collection. Her second album, Poème Mystique, recorded with pianist Juho Pohjonen, was released in February 2025. Her principal teachers include Shmuel Ashkenasi, Joseph Silverstein, Jaime Laredo, and Hagai Shaham. An alum of CMS’s Bowers Program and a winner of Astral Artists’ National Auditions, she performs on the 1683 “ex-Petschek” Nicolò Amati violin, generously loaned by a private collection.
Violist Paul Neubauer, hailed by the New York Times as a “master musician,” released two new albums in 2025 on First Hand Records, featuring the final works of two great composers: an all-Bartók album including the revised version of the Viola Concerto, and a Shostakovich recording that includes the monumental Viola Sonata. Appointed principal violist of the New York Philharmonic at the age of 21, Neubauer has appeared as soloist with the New York, Los Angeles, and Helsinki Philharmonics; the Chicago, National, St. Louis, Detroit, Dallas, San Francisco, and Bournemouth Symphonies; and the Santa Cecilia, English Chamber, and Beethovenhalle Orchestras. He has premiered viola concertos by Bartók (revised version), Friedman, Glière, Jacob, Kernis, Lazarof, Müller-Siemens, Ott, Penderecki, Picker, Suter, and Tower. A two-time Grammy nominee, Neubauer is artistic director of the Mostly Music series in New Jersey and serves on the faculties of the Juilliard School and Mannes College.
Romanian-born cellist Mihai Marica is a first-prize winner of the Dr. Luis Sigall International Competition in Viña del Mar, Chile, as well as the Irving M. Klein International Competition, and is a recipient of Charlotte White’s Salon de Virtuosi Fellowship Grant. He has performed with orchestras such as the Symphony Orchestra of Chile, Xalapa Symphony in Mexico, the Hermitage State Orchestra of St. Petersburg in Russia, the Jardins Musicaux Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, the Louisville Orchestra, and the Santa Cruz Symphony in the US. He has also appeared in recital performances in Austria, Hungary, Germany, Spain, Holland, South Korea, Japan, Chile, the United States, and Canada. A dedicated chamber musician, he has performed at the Chamber Music Northwest, Norfolk, and Aspen music festivals where he has collaborated with such artists as Ani Kavafian, Ida Kavafian, David Shifrin, André Watts, and Edgar Meyer. He is a founding member of the award-winning Amphion String Quartet. A recent collaboration with dancer Lil Buck brought forth new pieces for solo cello written by Yevgeniy Sharlat and Patrick Castillo. He recently joined the acclaimed Apollo Trio. Marica studied with Gabriela Todor in his native Romania and with Aldo Parisot at the Yale School of Music, where he was awarded master's and artist diploma degrees. He is an alum of CMS's Bowers Program.
SOMETHING TO KNOW:
Mendelssohn’s viola quintets span his compositional career, with the first composed when he was 17 and this one written two years before his death.
SOMETHING TO LISTEN FOR:
The third movement Adagio begins with a soulful melody in the first violin with only a simple accompaniment before branching out into increasingly elaborate textures in this ardent movement at the heart of the quintet.
Recorded live in the Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Studio on January 14, 2016.
Video directed by Tristan Cook.