Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet not only demonstrates his genius for melody and lyricism, but also features a distinct combination of instruments: only one violin and the addition of double bass. The richness of the low strings can also be heard in Mozart’s Adagio and Fugue, which deepens the string quartet’s tonal range.
Program
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
(1710–1784)Fugue in F minor for Violin, Viola and Cello
(c. 1774-78, arr. Mozart, K. 404a)Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756–1791)Adagio and Fugue in C minor for Strings, K. 546
(1788)Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756–1791)Quartet in E-flat major for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, K. 493
(1786)Franz Schubert
(1797–1828)Quintet in A major for Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Bass, D. 667, "Trout"
(1819)
Wu Han
Julian Rhee
Arnaud Sussmann
Paul Neubauer
Sterling Elliott
Anthony Manzo
Pianist Wu Han, recipient of Musical America’s Musician of the Year Award, enjoys a multi-faceted musical life that encompasses artistic direction, performing, and recording at the highest levels. Co-Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2004 as well as Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Silicon Valley’s innovative chamber music festival Music@Menlo since 2002, she also serves as Artistic Advisor for Wolf Trap’s Chamber Music at the Barns series and Palm Beach’s Society of the Four Arts, and as Artistic Director for La Musica in Sarasota, Florida. Her recent concert activities have taken her from New York’s Lincoln Center stages to the most important concert halls in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In addition to countless performances of virtually the entire chamber repertoire, her concerto performances include appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, and the Aspen Festival Orchestra. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of ArtistLed, classical music’s first artist-directed, internet-based recording label, which has released her performances of the staples of the cello-piano duo repertoire with cellist David Finckel. Her more than 80 releases on ArtistLed, CMS Live, and Music@Menlo LIVE include masterworks of the chamber repertoire with numerous distinguished musicians. Wu Han’s educational activities include overseeing CMS’s Bowers Program and the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo. A recipient of the prestigious Andrew Wolf Award, she was mentored by some of the greatest pianists of our time, including Lilian Kallir, Rudolf Serkin, and Menahem Pressler. Married to cellist David Finckel since 1985, Wu Han divides her time between concert touring and residences in New York City and Westchester County.
Winner of the prestigious 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Korean-American violinist Julian Rhee came to international prominence following his prize-winning performances at the 2024 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition and Silver Medal finish at the 11th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. He has appeared with orchestras including the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Oregon Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Belgian National Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Richmond Symphony, and San Diego Symphony. Julian is a member of CMS’s Bowers Program and has performed at festivals including Marlboro Music, Ravinia Steans Institute, and North Shore Chamber Music Festival. He studied at the New England Conservatory with Miriam Fried, and currently works with Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy. Julian is the recipient of the 1699 “Lady Tennant” Antonio Stradivari violin and a Jean Pierre Marie Persoit bow on extended loan through the generosity of the Mary B. Galvin Foundation and the Stradivari Society.
Winner of a 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Arnaud Sussmann has recently appeared as soloist with the Vancouver Symphony and the New World Symphony. As a chamber musician, he has performed at the Tel Aviv Museum, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Dresden Music Festival, and the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. He has also given concerts at the Moritzburg, Caramoor, Music@Menlo, La Jolla SummerFest, Mainly Mozart, Seattle Chamber Music, Chamber Music Northwest, and Moab Music festivals. An alum of CMS’s Bowers Program, Sussmann is Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach and Co-Director of Music@Menlo’s International Program, and teaches at Stony Brook University. In September 2022, he was named Founding Artistic Director of the Boscobel Chamber Music Festival. Mr. Sussmann plays a 1731 Stradivarius violin on loan from a private owner.
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.
Acclaimed for his stellar stage presence and joyous musicianship, cellist Sterling Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and winner of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition. He has appeared with major orchestras including the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras; the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics; and the Boston, Dallas, and Detroit Symphonies. In 2025–26 Sterling debuts with the Phoenix Symphony and the Buffalo Philharmonic, and at the BBC Proms. As featured soloist with the Sphinx Virtuosi, he will perform during a mutli-city tour at Carnegie Hall, Shriver Concert Series, and Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. He also continues his residency in CMS’s Bowers Program, performing at Alice Tully Hall and on tour throughout the United States, as well as in trio performances with Anthony McGill and Gloria Chien. He performs on a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello on loan through the Robert F. Smith Fine String Patron Program, in partnership with the Sphinx Organization.
Anthony Manzo’s vibrantly interactive music-making has made him a ubiquitous figure in the chamber music world. He appears regularly with CMS and at festivals including Spoleto USA, La Jolla SummerFest, Santa Fe Chamber Music, and the Bowdoin Festival. Currently a core member of ECCO (the East Coast Chamber Orchestra), he was previously the solo bassist of the Munich Chamber Orchestra and the New Century Chamber Orchestra. He has also been guest principal with Camerata Salzburg, where collaborations included a summer residency at the Salzburg Festival and two tours as soloist alongside bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, performing Mozart’s “Per questa bella mano.” Mr. Manzo also appears regularly with the Handel & Haydn Society and the Philharmonia Baroque, and is on the double bass and chamber music faculty at the University of Maryland. His instrument was made in Paris around 1890—and has been fitted with a removable neck for all his traveling!