The Escher String Quartet has proved itself one of the most revered quartets of our time. Following their triumphant presentation of the complete Bartók string quartets in CMS’s 2023–24 season, this program demonstrates the ensemble’s quintessential strengths: as world-class interpreters of the classics in sublime late works by Mozart and Dvořák, and as champions of new music in a much-anticipated viola quintet by American composer Chris Rogerson.

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The Escher String Quartet

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

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.

An Evening with Benjamin Beilman and Gloria Chien

Escher unveils a CMH co-commissioned piece by composer Chris Rogerson, featuring award-winning Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak, “a power-house musician, with a strong voice and compelling sound” (The Whole Note). Praised for its “haunting beauty” and “virtuosic exuberance” (The New York Times), Rogerson’s music is desired for its characteristic lyricism, notably in recent works for Yo-Yo Ma and Dover Quartet. This performance offers two viola quintets, including a breathtaking later work by Brahms.

Escher Quartet with Jordan Bak

Alice Pratt Brown Hall

Anne-Marie McDermott, “a pianist who balances qualities of excitement and spontaneity with clarity and elegance” (New York Times), reunites with the SPCO for the first time since their fruitful collaboration at the 2022 Bravo! Vail Music Festival in Colorado. McDermott will lead the orchestra once again in a world premiere of Chris Rogerson’s Samaa', a new expansion of his work by the same name that was previously recorded in Colorado. Two chamber works by French composers showcase the piano in chamber ensembles — an impressionistic concerto with strings by Ernest Chausson and a sextet with winds by Francis Poulenc that pendulates between liveliness and elegy.

Anne-Marie McDermott Plays Chausson, Poulenc and Rogerson

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

In 2014, clarinetist Anthony McGill and his brother, flutist Demarre McGill, were featured artists in residence at Bowling Green University. When pianist Michael McHale joined them in concert for the first time, it was immediately clear that the trio would have a great future making music together. This recital includes two of the three wind sonatas that Poulenc composed at the end of his life. Both the flute and clarinet sonatas are full of the composer’s characteristic charm, elegance, and buffoonery. The program also includes a fascinating potpourri of short works for this unusual trio of instruments.

Chris Rogerson

Events

Past events

Feb 10, 2026

The Escher String Quartet · Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Nov 23, 2025

An Evening with Benjamin Beilman and Gloria Chien · Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

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