Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Dec 7 2025

Dave and I heard the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on Sun Dec 7, 2025. It was an all-Baroque program culminating in Vivaldi's *The Four Seasons.*

The program started with two short pieces for organ by J. S. Bach, would you believe NEW pieces by that desiccated old corpse? These pieces were unsigned and thought to be by Anonymous until just a month ago. A group of musicologists and music sleuths decided they could say they're by Bach, largely through connecting the manuscript to someone who had notated a lot of his music. They recognized his notational handwriting, connected a few more dots, and presto, it's a Bach.

The pieces were the Ciacona and Fuga in D minor and the Ciacona in G minor. They were delightful, with wonderful changes in registers. My favorite sequence had the organist playing a one-measure phrase in a strong register and then playing the same one-measure phrase in a quieter register. This alternated back and forth for a while, it was darling. The fugue was in a three meter, something I don't think I'd heard before. They were played with wonderful style by Paolo Bordignon, who played harpsichord for the rest of the concert.

Chad Hoopes played Telemann's Fantasia #10 in D major for solo violin. The piece was full of sparkle with surprising harmonic shifts in the middle movement, something that's difficult to convey in a piece for solo violin. Hoopes may have been a little Romantic in his interpretation of the finale but he won me over with his verve.

Violinist Julian Rhee, cellist Edward Arron, and Bordignon played a trio sonata in A major by Handel. A very early piece, an opus 1! I was in love with the adagio, it was so expressive - - and then it was over. It was over before it began, he could have gone on for another five pages, that would have pleased me. But did he ask? Rhee used different styles of articulation on the violin in the last movement, that really livened it up.

The whole ensemble played a concerto grosso in D major by Corelli. I played bass in my high school orchestra and it seemed like we played a Corelli concerto grosso nearly every year. I loved those pieces, they were fun to play. But I know we didn't play this one because there was on way we had a violinist who could get through the solo part! It was played by Kristin Lee with supporting solos by violinist Richard Lin. The piece opened with a full rich sound, rather startling hearing ten people play after hearing no more than three up to that point. The stately intro ended pretty quickly and the fireworks started. Lee played with guts and glamour. She was helped by being the only woman onstage. She was also wearing a fabulous gown and every now and then she threw her hair around. I wonder if you learn that in college or if you figure it out on your own.

Here's another group playing that piece:

At one point the two solo violinists volleyed a single note back and forth to each other. That was amusing. And then, shock of shocks, the piece did an abrupt pivot to be a Baroque version of a hoe down! Hey, why the hell not.

The first half ended with the Bach violin concerto in E major. They started the piece and I said, "Oh I know this!" The music wasn't exactly surprising but it was continually engrossing. The slow movement had rhythmic surprises and bits of drama. The solo part was played gloriously by Arnaud Sussman. Here's Hilary Hahn playing the piece:

I have to confess that I was not looking forward to hearing *The Four Seasons.* It seems like that piece is everywhere, the kind of thing that's played at least once a week on an unimaginative classical music radio station. Too popular, too well known. But I made an effort to keep my mind open - - I had never heard it live and I had been blown away by a Vivaldi opera at Salzburg a few months before, so maybe it would win me over.

Well holy Christ, it DID. Sometimes there's a reason something is popular, it's because it's great! The Society "cast" four violinists, each playing one season, and they chose them thoughtfully, with each playing music that perfectly suited their strengths.

Spring had Chad Hoopes on the solo, the guy who played the Telemann on the first half. He had an engaging physicality, sometimes eliciting chuckles from the audience, but never pandering, he was always elegant. Let's say he had flashes of wit. The third movement had three things going on at the same time: a viola started each measure with two iterations of the same note, always played in an artfully artless manner. Sort of a Honk Honk effect. Maybe it was the guy playing it but this part felt sorta sexy to me! Not what I think of with Vivaldi. Anyway we had the Honk Honk on the viola - - we also had the three backup violins playing a demure dotted rhythm, and the solo part was lyrical and plaintive over all of that. It was a thrilling combo. Hoopes ended the piece with an imaginative cadenza.

Summer had Julian Rhee playing the solo, the guy who played the Handel in the first half. It opens with a humid solo followed by a lightning fast duet for violin and cello. We had some alternating moments between the full ensemble and two or three solo instruments, that was pleasing. The slow movement did this: soft soft soft LOUD. I like that, it works for me. And the final movement was bonkers, with Rhee not being afraid to be screechy or guttural.

Autumn had Lee in the solo part, the token female This piece gave her a major diva moment with lots of double stops and more tossing of the hair. The slow movement had a prominent part for the harpsichord, that was a nice change in texture. Vivaldi wrote some peculiar harmonies, including one moment that I'm sure was stolen by Barry Manilow. I'll have to research that. The finale was jaunty - - it was the one piece that felt most like an opera or a dance.

Winter had Richard Lin in the solo part - - he played second fiddle to Lee in the Corelli. He was perfect for this piece, he really leaned into the odd modern flavor, sometimes playing in such a screechy manner that it was hard to tell what the pitch was. I'm not mad at that. They arrived at the big tune and everybody went for it. The slow movement had a long lyrical line for the soloist, sawing away by the celllo, treading water by the violas, and pizzicato from the backup violins. The finale was full of pow and the audience went mental.