Lincoln Performance Hall

Hailing from Germany, the three Schumann brothers have been playing together since childhood. Together with their violist colleague, Matthew McDowell, they communicate with an openness and curiosity that has gained them a reputation as one of the most exciting string quartets performing today.

WOLF Italian Serenade MOZART Quartet in G Major, K. 73f IVES Quartet No. 2 BRAHMS Quartet in A minor, Op. 51, No. 2

Hailing from Germany, the three Schumann brothers have been playing together since childhood. Together with their violist colleague, Matthew McDowell, they communicate with an openness and curiosity that has gained them a reputation as one of the most exciting string quartets performing today.

WOLF Italian Serenade MOZART Quartet in G Major, K. 73f IVES Quartet No. 2 BRAHMS Quartet in A minor, Op. 51, No. 2

Chinese-American pianist Ying Li plays a program built on grand transcriptions and storytelling. Busoni’s arrangement of Bach’s Chaconne opens, followed by Amy Beach’s Four Sketches, Agosti’s arrangement of Stravinsky’s Firebird and Qigang Chen’s Instants d’un opéra de Pékin. Liszt’s operatic fantasies on Verdi’s Rigoletto and Bellini’s Norma close the afternoon. A free pre-concert lecture begins at 3:15 p.m.

Top prize winners in the ARD, Fischoff, and M-Prize Competitions, among others, Calidore Quartet is distinguished by its expressive depth, commanding precision, and interpretive clarity. Additional honors include an Avery Fisher Career Grant and selection as BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists.

“The kind of sublimity other quartets spend a lifetime seeking.” Los Angeles Times

Program: Monday, January 11

BARBER Quartet, Op. 11
JANÁČEK Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer”
BEETHOVEN Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130 with Grosse Fugue

Program: Tuesday, January 12

HAYDN Quartet in D Major, Op. 71, No. 2
Jessie MONTGOMERY Strum
Samuel ADAMS Quartet No. 3
BEETHOVEN Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135

Top prize winners in the ARD, Fischoff, and M-Prize Competitions, among others, Calidore Quartet is distinguished by its expressive depth, commanding precision, and interpretive clarity. Additional honors include an Avery Fisher Career Grant and selection as BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists.

“The kind of sublimity other quartets spend a lifetime seeking.” Los Angeles Times

Program: Monday, January 11

BARBER Quartet, Op. 11
JANÁČEK Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer”
BEETHOVEN Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130 with Grosse Fugue

Program: Tuesday, January 12

HAYDN Quartet in D Major, Op. 71, No. 2
Jessie MONTGOMERY Strum
Samuel ADAMS Quartet No. 3
BEETHOVEN Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135

Israeli-American pianist Inon Barnatan frames his recital with all four of Chopin’s Ballades. Between them he places three nocturnes by John Field, the Irish composer who invented the form, Samuel Barber’s Nocturne in homage to Field, and mazurkas by Szymanowski and Thomas Adès. A free pre-concert lecture begins at 3:15 p.m.

Based in Amsterdam, the Busch Trio grew out of friendships established at the Royal College of Music in London more than a decade ago. Their shared passion for chamber music developed into a piano trio that achieves the highest artistic level on the international stage.

“Youth, Love and Death” SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8 DEBUSSY Piano Trio in G Major TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50

Based in Amsterdam, the Busch Trio grew out of friendships established at the Royal College of Music in London more than a decade ago. Their shared passion for chamber music developed into a piano trio that achieves the highest artistic level on the international stage.

“Youth, Love and Death” SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8 DEBUSSY Piano Trio in G Major TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50

Boris Giltburg, Portland Piano International’s guest artistic curator, plays three sets of musical pictures. Prokofiev’s Visions fugitives and Schumann’s Carnaval lead to Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. A free pre-concert lecture begins at 3:15 p.m.

One of Britain’s finest young string quartets, the Maxwell Quartet’s charisma and sense of adventure shine through in everything they do. With a strong connection to their folk music heritage, they are committed to bringing together wide-ranging projects and programs that expand the string quartet repertoire.

HAYDN Quartet No. 25 in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2 Eleanor ALBERGA Quartet No. 4 BEETHOVEN Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3 MAXWELL QUARTET Folk Music from Scotland

One of Britain’s finest young string quartets, the Maxwell Quartet’s charisma and sense of adventure shine through in everything they do. With a strong connection to their folk music heritage, they are committed to bringing together wide-ranging projects and programs that expand the string quartet repertoire.

HAYDN Quartet No. 25 in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2 Eleanor ALBERGA Quartet No. 4 BEETHOVEN Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3 MAXWELL QUARTET Folk Music from Scotland

American pianist Tiffany Poon’s program moves through birds, water, legendary women and love songs. Two pieces from Ravel’s Miroirs and Lili Boulanger’s D’un jardin clair share the bill with Mel Bonis’s portraits of Ophelia and Desdemona, Liszt’s Liebestraum No. 3 and his sermon to the birds, Chopin’s Barcarolle and Poon’s own arrangement of Stravinsky’s Firebird. A free pre-concert lecture begins at 3:15 p.m.

TrioColores, winners of a 2025 Opus Klassik Award, is a renowned percussion ensemble recognized as one of the foremost interpreters of a diverse percussive repertoire spanning classical masterworks to celebrated contemporary compositions. Described as a powerhouse of talent and innovation, these award-winning musicians from Switzerland and Austria have unbridled energy and an insatiable passion for imaginative programming.

Maurice RAVEL Selections from Le Tombeau de Couperin IV. Rigaudon V. Menuet VI. Toccata Felix MENDELSSOHN Selections from Lieder ohne Worte Op. 67, No. 2 in F-sharp Minor Op. 102, No. 4 in G Minor Op. 62, No. 6 in A Major (“Spring Song”) Op. 30, No. 4 in B Minor Claude DEBUSSY Selection from Children’s Corner Suite VI. Golliwogg’s Cakewalk Darius MILHAUD Scaramouche George GERSHWIN Three Preludes I. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso II. Andante con moto e poco rubato III. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso Benny GREB New Composition for Percussion Rüdiger PAWASSAR Sculpture in Wood and Metal GERSHWIN Selections from Porgy and Bess

Dutch pianist Nikola Meeuwsen closes the season with Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, one of the largest works in the piano repertoire. Before it come Brahms’s left-hand arrangement of Bach’s Chaconne, a Liszt Petrarch Sonnet and Schubert’s four Impromptus, op. 90. A free pre-concert lecture begins at 3:15 p.m.