An Evening with Benjamin Beilman and Gloria Chien
Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 5:00 pm
Alice Tully Hall
2 hours, including intermission
Violinist Benjamin Beilman has built an international audience of listeners enthralled by his golden tone, impeccable technique, and magnetic musicianship. Truly a violinist’s violinist, Beilman excels at whatever he plays, from classic to contemporary, with equal appeal. Partnering with Beilman for this special concert is pianist Gloria Chien, a long-time presence at CMS and one of today’s most sought-after collaborators. The program includes works by violin virtuoso Eugene Ysaÿe (whose 1740 Guarneri del Gesù violin Beilman plays) and Béla Bartók, as well as César Franck’s darkly lyrical showpiece dedicated as a wedding present to Ysaÿe.
Program
Eugène Ysaÿe
(1858–1931)Sonata in D minor for Violin, Op. 27, No. 3, “Ballade”
(1923)Béla Bartók
(1881–1945)Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, BB 85
(1922)Karol Szymanowski
(1882-1937)Nocturne and Tarantella for Violin and Piano, Op. 28
(1915)Chris Rogerson
(b. 1988)Arietta for Violin and Piano
(New York Premiere) (2021)César Franck
(1822-1890)Sonata in A major for Violin and Piano
(1886)
Benjamin Beilman
Gloria Chien
Benjamin Beilman’s 2025–26 season highlights include appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony, Solistes Européens Luxembourg, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, and Nashville Symphony. He will also curate, stage, and lead two chamber music programs at Sun Valley Music Festival, and continue his ongoing recital partnership with pianist Steven Osborne. In the summer, he embarks on a month-long tour of Australasia, including appearances with the Sydney Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, West Australian Symphony, and Auckland Philharmonia. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank, and with Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy. He has received many prestigious accolades including a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and a London Music Masters Award. He has also recorded works by Stravinsky, Janácek, and Schubert for Warner Classics, and is an alum of CMS’s Bowers Program. Beilman performs with the ex-Balakovic F. X. Tourte bow (c. 1820), and plays the “Ysaÿe” Guarneri del Gesù from 1740, generously on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.
Pianist Gloria Chien has a diverse musical life as a performer, concert presenter, and educator. She made her orchestral debut at age 16 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Dausgaard. In 2009 she launched String Theory, a chamber music series in Chattanooga, and the following year was appointed Director of the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo. In 2017, she joined her husband, violinist Soovin Kim, as Co-Artistic Director of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vermont. The duo became Artistic Directors at Chamber Music Northwest in 2020, and were named the recipients of the 2021 Award for Extraordinary Service to Chamber Music from CMS. Ms. Chien received her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from New England Conservatory, where she was named the Advisor for the prestigious Institute for Concert Artists in 2024. She is an artist-in-residence at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee; a Steinway Artist; and an alum of CMS’s Bowers Program.
