Mendelssohn’s B-minor Piano Quartet at Lincoln Center (Site)
Sunday October 18, 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
In a program where music evolves from work to work, all roads lead to Mendelssohn, who assimilated and combined the best of his predecessors during the midst of the Romantic era. The wit of Haydn, the strength of Beethoven, and the lyricism of Schubert all found a home in Mendelssohn’s prolific pen. Join us for an exciting journey from the elegant Age of Reason into the turbulent 19th century.
Program
Program
Joseph Haydn
(1732–1809)
Trio in B-flat major for Violin, Cello and Piano, Hob. XV:20
(1794)
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770–1827)
Allegretto in B-flat major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, WoO 39
(1812)
Franz Schubert
(1797–1828)
Sonata in A minor for Viola and Piano, D. 821, “Arpeggione”
(1824)
Felix Mendelssohn
(1809–1847)
Quartet in B minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 3
(1825)
Performers
Orion Weiss
Julian Rhee
Timothy Ridout
Sterling Elliott
One of the most sought-after soloists and chamber music collaborators of his generation, Orion Weiss is widely regarded as a “brilliant pianist” (New York Times) with “powerful technique and exceptional insight” (Washington Post). He has performed with dozens of orchestras in North America including the Chicago Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic and at major venues and festivals worldwide.
Known for his affinity for chamber music, Weiss performs regularly with violinists Augustin Hadelichand James Ehnes; pianists Michael Brown and Shai Wosner; and the Ariel, Parker, and Pacifica Quartets. In recent seasons, he has also performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Weiss can be heard on the Naxos, Telos, Bridge, First Hand, Yarlung, and Artek labels.
Weiss has been awarded the Classical Recording Foundation’s Young Artist of the Year, Gilmore Young Artist Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the Mieczyslaw Munz Scholarship. A native of Ohio, Weiss attended the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, where he studied with Emanuel Ax.
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.
Violist Timothy Ridout has appeared with orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and the Netherlands Philharmonic, working alongside conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Sir András Schiff, Sylvain Cambreling, and Sir Simon Rattle. A committed chamber musician, he performs regularly at Wigmore Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the Musikverein, with partners including Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma. A champion of new music, Ridout premiered Mark Simpson’s Viola Concerto Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Robin Ticciati. He records with Harmonia Mundi, and has made appearances at the BBC Proms, Verbier Festival, and Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Ridout is a former BBC New Generation Artist, an alum of CMS’s Bowers program, and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellow. He performs on a viola by Peregrino di Zanetto, c.1565–75, on generous loan from a patron of Beare’s International Violin Society.
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.