Schumann Fantasies
This event has passedFri, Apr 12, 2024, 7:30 pm
Alice Tully Hall
2 hours, including intermission
Robert Schumann’s mercurial artistry produced works that stand at the pinnacle of the Romantic tradition.
Given to spontaneous flights of fancy, he composed for whatever combination of instruments moved his spirit. A delightfully eclectic first half precedes one of the classic piano trios of the literature, which shows the versatile Schumann reimagining the Classical style to express unrestrained passion.
Program
Robert Schumann
(1810–1856)Fantasiestücke (Fantasy Pieces) for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 73
(1849)Quick Note
Schumann's "Fantasiestücke" is notable for being inspired by Schumann's fascination with literature, particularly the characters and scenes found in Romantic literature, which he sought to capture through music.
Listen for the vivid musical storytelling, as each piece explores different moods and emotions, ranging from tender lyricism to lively energy.
Robert Schumann
(1810–1856)Adagio and Allegro in A-flat major for Horn and Piano, Op. 70
(1849)Robert Schumann
(1810–1856)Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tales) for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op. 132
(1853)Robert Schumann
(1810–1856)Andante and Variations for Horn, Two Cellos, and Two Pianos, WoO 10
(1843)Robert Schumann
(1810–1856)Trio No. 1 in D minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 63
(1847)
Anne-Marie McDermott
Alessio Bax
Ida Kavafian
Daniel Phillips
Estelle Choi
Paul Watkins
David Shifrin
Nathaniel Silberschlag
One of the most dazzling American pianists of her generation, Anne-Marie McDermott has performed concertos, recitals, and chamber music throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. She is an insightful interpreter of Baroque and Classical masterpieces, 20th-century modernism, and music by influential contemporary composers. McDermott has soloed with the New York Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestra. She is currently recording the complete Beethoven piano concertos with Mexico City’s Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería under Carlos Miguel Prieto. Her recordings also include the complete piano sonatas of Prokofiev, solo works by Chopin, Bach’s English Suites and Partitas, and Gershwin’s works for piano and orchestra. She received a 2024 Honorary Doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music. McDermott is the Artistic Director of the Ocean Reef Chamber Music Festival, and of the McKnight Center’s Chamber Music Festival. Her tenure as Artistic Director of Bravo! Vail Music Festival concluded in summer 2026.
Alessio Bax won first prize at both the Leeds and Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, and has appeared with nearly 200 orchestras, including the New York, London, and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras; the Boston, Baltimore, Dallas, Cincinnati, Seattle, Sydney, BBC Scottish, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras; the Cleveland and Minnesota Orchestras; and the Tokyo and NHK Symphonies in Japan. He is the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award, and the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists. At age 14, Bax graduated with top honors from the conservatory of Bari, Italy. He is a former member of CMS’s Bowers Program and is on the faculty at New England Conservatory. For ten years, Bax has been Artistic Director of the Incontri in Terra di Siena Festival, and is the Artistic Director of the London Festival of Chamber Music at Smith Square Hall in London. He also serves as Co-Artistic Director of the Joaquín Achúcarro Foundation for emerging pianists.
Violinist/violist Ida Kavafian recently retired after 35 successful years as artistic director of Music from Angel Fire, the renowned festival in New Mexico. She leaves a legacy of over 40 world premieres commissioned by the festival. Her close association with The Curtis Institute continues with her large and superb class, the endowment of her faculty chair by former Curtis Board President Baroness Nina von Maltzahn, and the awarding of the Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching, which is presented in recognition of outstanding service in stimulating and guiding Curtis students. In addition to her solo engagements, she continues to perform with her piano quartet, OPUS ONE and Trio Valtorna. Co-founder of those ensembles as well as Tashi and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival (which she ran for ten years), she has toured and recorded with the Guarneri, Orion, Shanghai, Harlem, and American string quartets (as violist); as a member of the Beaux Arts Trio for six years; and with such artists as Chick Corea, Mark O'Connor, and Wynton Marsalis. A graduate of The Juilliard School, where she studied with Oscar Shumsky, she was presented in her debut by Young Concert Artists with her long time chamber music partner, pianist Peter Serkin. Kavafian and her husband, violist Steven Tenenbom, have also found success outside of music in the breeding, training, and showing of champion Vizsla dogs, including the 2003 Number One Vizsla All Systems in the US, the 2007 National Champion, and a recent Gold Grand Champion as well as a master hunter. She has performed with the Chamber Music Society since 1973.
Violinist/violist Daniel Phillips enjoys a versatile career as a chamber musician, soloist, and teacher. A graduate of Juilliard, he counts among his teachers his father, Eugene Phillips, Ivan Galamian, Sally Thomas, Nathan Milstein, Sándor Végh, and George Neikrug. He co-founded the Orion String Quartet, which played worldwide for 37 years. Since winning the 1976 Young Concert Artists Competition, he has performed as soloist with many major orchestras. Along with his wife, Tara Helen O’Connor, he is the Co-Artistic Director of Music from Angel Fire. He was a member of the renowned Bach Aria Group and has toured and recorded in a string quartet for Sony with Gidon Kremer, Kim Kashkashian, and Yo-Yo Ma. Phillips is a professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and on the faculties of Bard College Conservatory and Juilliard. He plays a violin made by Samuel Zygmuntowicz in 2017 and a 1702 Stradivarius, and a viola made by his grandfather, Benjamin F. Phillips.
Cellist Estelle Choi has been praised by the Los Angeles Times for “giving the impression that music and the room are a single living being.” She is a founding member of the Calidore String Quartet, which made international headlines when they won the Grand Prize of the 2016 M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition. The Calidore is an Avery Fisher Career Grant winner, BBC 3 New Generation Artist, recipient of the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist award and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, and alums of CMS’s Bowers Program. She serves on the faculty of the University of Delaware School of Music as Associate Professor of Violin and co-directs the UD Graduate Fellowship Quartet Program and Calidore String Quartet Seminar. She studied with John Kadz and went on to work with Aldo Parisot at the Yale School of Music and Ronald Leonard at the Colburn Conservatory.
Paul Watkins enjoys a distinguished career as soloist, chamber musician, and conductor. The cellist of the Emerson String Quartet from 2013 until its disbanding in 2023, he was also Artistic Director of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival from 2014 to 2026, and in 2019 was appointed Professor of Cello at the Yale School of Music. He has performed as soloist with prestigious orchestras worldwide. A dedicated chamber musician, he was a member of the Nash Ensemble from 1997 until 2013 and appears regularly at CMS. Watkins has held the positions of Music Director of the English Chamber Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra. His extensive discography as a cellist includes more than 70 recordings, and his first recording as a conductor, of the Britten and Berg violin concertos with Daniel Hope, received a Grammy nomination. His recent recording of the Beethoven Cello Sonatas with Alessio Bax was Gramophone’s June 2026 Recording of the Month.
A Yale University faculty member since 1987, clarinetist David Shifrin is artistic director of Yale’s Chamber Music Society and the Yale in New York concert series. He has performed with CMS since 1982 and served as its artistic director from 1992 to 2004, inaugurating CMS’s Bowers Program and the annual Brandenburg Concertos concerts. He was the artistic director of Chamber Music Northwest from 1981 to 2020. Winner of the Avery Fisher Career Grant (1987) and the Avery Fisher Prize (2000), he has held principal clarinet positions in numerous orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra and the American Symphony under Leopold Stokowski. As soloist, Shifrin has performed recitals at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Library of Congress. Notable concerto performances include the Philadelphia and Minnesota orchestras; the Dallas, Seattle, Houston, Milwaukee, and Denver symphonies; as well as orchestras in China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. Shifrin performs on clarinets made by Morrie Backun in Vancouver, Canada, and Légère synthetic reeds.
Nathaniel Silberschlag was appointed principal horn of the Cleveland Orchestra in May 2019 and took up the position in August prior to the start of the 2019–20 season. He previously served as assistant principal horn of the Washington National Opera/Kennedy Center Opera House orchestra, where he was the youngest member ever to win a position with the ensemble, at the age of 19. He made his debut in Italy at age 9, with news of the performance appearing on the front page of Italy’s newspaper La Stampa. As soloist, he has performed with the Juilliard Orchestra, Bulgarian Philharmonic, Romania State Symphony, New York’s Little Orchestra Society, and the Chesapeake Orchestra. He has also played concerts with a variety of ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Silberschlag completed his bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School in May 2019, where he was a student of Julie Landsman and recipient of the Kovner Fellowship.