Program
Gioachino Rossini
(1792–1868)Quartet No. 4 for Flute, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon in B-flat major
Camille Saint-Saëns
(1835–1921)Sonata for Oboe and Piano, Op. 166
(1921)Quick Note
This sonata was one of the last chamber works written by Saint-Saëns, dedicated to the memory of his friend and fellow composer, Henri Woollett.
Listen for the seamless interaction between the oboe and piano, as Saint-Saëns explores a wide range of emotions and textures.
Paul Taffanel
(1844–1908)Quintet in G minor for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn
(1876)Quick Note
Francis Poulenc
(1899–1963)Sonata for Flute and Piano
(1956–57)Quick Note
This sonata stands out in the chamber music repertoire for its fusion of neoclassical elements with jazz influences, offering a unique and vibrant listening experience.
Listen for Poulenc's characteristic juxtaposition of playful melodies and poignant moments, as well as his exploration of the flute's agility and expressive capabilities.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756–1791)Quintet in E-flat major for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano, K. 452
(1784)Quick Note
Evren Ozel
Demarre McGill
Juri Vallentin
Peter Kolkay
Hugo Valverde
American pianist Evren Ozel, praised for his compelling artistry and technical mastery, is the Bronze Medalist of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, where he also received the Mozart Concerto Prize. He has appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Fort Worth Symphony under conductors including Marin Alsop and Carlos Miguel Prieto. A recipient of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Ozel released his debut album of Mozart concertos with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Howard Griffiths on Alpha Classics in 2025. Ozel is a 2024–27 Bowers Program Artist at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and performs widely in recital, chamber music, and international festivals. A graduate of the New England Conservatory, he studied with Wha Kyung Byun and has worked with Mitsuko Uchida, Sir András Schiff, and others. He is managed by Concert Artists Guild and makes his home in Boston.
Flutist Demarre McGill has gained international recognition as a soloist, recitalist, chamber, and orchestral musician. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, he has appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the San Francisco, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Grant Park, San Diego, Chicago, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras. Now principal flute of the Seattle Symphony, he previously served as principal flute of the Dallas Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Florida Orchestra, and Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. He has also served as acting principal flute of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. McGill is an alum of CMS’s Bowers Program and has participated in the Santa Fe, Marlboro, Seattle, and Stellenbosch chamber music festivals, among others.
German oboist Juri Vallentin has gained international attention as a prize winner of major competitions such as the International Tchaikovsky Competition as first oboist, the German Music Competition, and the International Oboe Competition of Japan. He has performed as soloist with the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Mariinsky Orchestra, the Lower Saxony State Orchestra, the Brandenburg State Orchestra, and the Munich Chamber Orchestra, among others. His albums Bridges, featuring Italian concertos, Ebenbild, which combines music and literature, and Bridges, with music from five centuries, as well as numerous radio productions for BR, SWR, and Deutschlandfunk, document his artistic work. He co-founded the wind quintet BREEZE in 2021. Born in Mainz, he studied in Nuremberg and at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he graduated with highest honors. Vallentin is Professor of Oboe at the Karlsruhe University of Music and a member of CMS’s Bowers Program.
Called “stunningly virtuosic” by the New York Times and “superb” by the Washington Post, Peter Kolkay is the only bassoonist to be awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant. In addition to performing with CMS, he regularly appears as a chamber musician at the Sarasota, Music@Menlo, and Bridgehampton summer festivals. Kolkay has commissioned and premiered solo works by Joan Tower, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Elliott Carter, and Tania León, among many others, and his most recent recordings include an album of music for bassoon and strings with the Calidore String Quartet, and the Christopher Rouse concerto with the Albany Symphony. He is Professor of Bassoon at the Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music and has given master classes throughout the US, Mexico, and South Korea. Kolkay is an alum of CMS’s Bowers Program, and holds degrees from Lawrence University, the Eastman School of Music, and Yale University. He is a native of Naperville, Illinois.
Horn player Hugo Valverde enjoys a prolific career in the United States and abroad as an orchestral player and soloist, currently holding the Second Horn position at the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City. Other commitments as an orchestral musician include performances with the National Symphony Orchestra of his native Costa Rica, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, and the New York City Ballet Orchestra, as well as major festivals. He is a faculty member at the Bard College Conservatory of Music and the Precollege Division at Manhattan School of Music. Valverde studied at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas, Lynn University Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida, and the National Music Institute in San José, Costa Rica. His main teachers are Daniel León, Luis Murillo, Gregory Miller, and William VerMeulen.