Chamber Music Cincinnati presents pinnacle chamber music ensembles, two from America, and the leaders from England, Israel, and Spain. Concerts include groundbreaking works by Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, and Shostakovich that changed music forever.
• On September 24, the Grammy and Gramophone-winning Takács Quartet, the only active U.S. quartet among the BBC’s “ten all-time greatest,” is back.
• Spain’s leading chamber ensemble, Cuarteto Casals, makes its long-awaited Cincinnati debut on November 13. May 1 sees the return to our stage of the astonishing Jerusalem Quartet.
• Arguably the world’s most in-demand classical musician under 30, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, 25, appears on December 10. A Decca classical recording artist at just 16, he burst onto the world stage to a television audience of two billion performing during the 2018 royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Virtuoso pianist, Isata Kanneh-Mason, 28, whose first Decca CD reached #1 on the British classical charts, partners with her brother. Elton John supported Isata’s music education at England’s Royal Academy of Music, where six Kanneh-Masons siblings have won scholarships.
• The most unexpected partnership of the season adds immeasurably to the celebration, when the 2022 Banff Competition-winning Isidore String Quartet is joined in his Cincinnati return by consummate pianist Jeremy Denk.
Our 95th Season
The expense of presenting the world’s great chamber artists, and your financial support is welcome.
Takács Quartet
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 – 7:30 p.m. Memorial Hall
“One of the ten greatest string quartet ensembles of all time.”
— Gramophone
Grammy and Gramophone winning Takács Quartet performs Haydn, Janacek, and Beethoven.
HAYDN: String Quartet in C major, Op. 54, "Tost", No. 2 (1788)
JANÁČEK: String Quartet No. 1, “Kreutzer Sonata”
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59 “Razumovsky,” No.1
CUARTETO CASALS
“No other quartet can match this group’s four-voiced marriage…”
– The Independent (London)
“The immediately striking thing is the sound… performances of fleet-footed conviction.” —Gramophone
“There’s something so immediate about the superb Casals Quartet’s playing…” – Gramophone
Wednesday, November 13, 2024 – 7:30 p.m. Memorial Hall
Spain’s renowned Cuarteto Casals, debuts here with Mozart, Shostakovich, and Beethoven.
MOZART: Quartet in D Major, K. 499 “Hoffmeister”
SHOSTAKOVICH: Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 68
BEETHOVEN: Quartet No. 3 in C Major, Op. 59, “Razumovsky”
SHEKU & ISATA KANNEH-MASON
“prodigiously gifted siblings.” - Gramophone
“Some of the loveliest cello-playing I’ve heard in decades.” – Gramophone
“…the sort of lofty emotional peak you’d have expected from a du Pré or a Navarra.” – Gramophone
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 – 7:30 p.m., Memorial Hall
Royal Wedding cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason performed for a television audience of 2 billion. The most sought-after musician of his generation, he and pianist sister Isata perform for you here in Cincinnati.
MENDELSSOHN: Cello Sonata No.1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 45
SHEKU KANNEH-MASON: Prelude (2024) North American Premiere
FAURÉ: Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 109 in D Minor
NATALIE KLOUDA: Tor Mordôn (“Sea mount of light,” 2024) North American Premiere
POULENC: Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 143 (1940–48), rev. 1953 Francis Poulenc (1899–1963)
ISIDORE STRING QUARTET
w/Jeremy Denk, piano
“The commitment and artistry of this young quartet were wonderful to hear…” – The Strad
“Mr. Denk, clearly, is a pianist you want to hear, no matter what he performs.” – New York Times
“…the fiendish technique and expressive iconoclasm you’d expect from one of today’s classical superstars. – The Guardian
Thursday, March 6, 2025 – 7:30 p.m., Memorial Hall
Rocketing skyward after their 2022 Banff Competition win, Isidore String Quartet makes its Cincinnati debut with returning pianist Jermey Denk and the Brahms Piano Quintet.
HAYDN: String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 76 (Erdödy), No. 4, “Sunrise”, Hob. III:78
CHILDS: String Quartet No.3, “Unrequited” (2015)
BRAHMS: Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34
JERUSALEM QUARTET
"Their playing has everything you could possibly wish for." - BBC Music Magazine
“…a virtuosic ensemble with a glorious, meaty sound and irresistible panache” – The Guardian
“Unity of sound and purpose is a given in any performance by the extraordinary Jerusalem Quartet.” – New York Times
Thursday, May 1, 2024, 7:30 pm, Memorial Hall
The extraordinary Jerusalem Quartet returns with three of the greatest string quartets
HAYDN: Quartet in Bb-Major, Op 50, No. 1 (“Prussian”), Op. 76
SHOSTAKOVICH: Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110
MOZART: Quartet in C-Major, K. 465 (“Dissonance”)