Wu Han, piano; David Finckel, cello; Benjamin Bielman, violin

Pre-Concert Talk with WETA at 6:00 PM | Concert: 7:00 PM

Cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han, honored as Musical America’s Musicians of the Year, stand among today’s most distinguished figures in classical music. Their multi-faceted musical lives encompass world-class performances, acclaimed recordings and visionary artistic direction. From the stages of New York to the premier concert halls across the United States, Europe and Asia, they have captivated audiences globally. Their repertoire spans the classical canon for cello and piano, includes commissioned works from contemporary composers, and covers virtually the entire chamber music literature for their instruments. As artistic directors for prominent arts organizations, they collaboratively curate more than 300 concerts each year.

In 1997, David Finckel and Wu Han founded ArtistLed, the first internet-based, artist-controlled classical recording label. With a catalog of over 20 releases, ArtistLed showcases both the standard cello and piano repertoire, and new works composed for the duo by George Tsontakis, Gabriela Lena Frank, Bruce Adolphe, Lera Auerbach, Edwin Finckel, Augusta Read Thomas, and Pierre Jalbert.

Since 2004, David Finckel and Wu Han have served as Artistic Directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS), the largest presenter and producer of chamber music in the world. As the longest-serving artistic directors in CMS’s history, they have expanded the organization’s reach, drawing more people to chamber music through its performances, education programs, and recording/broadcast activities than any other organization of its kind. In recent seasons, they conceived and produced over 270 digital events, sustaining chamber music communities across the country during the pandemic lockdown.

As founders and Artistic Directors of Silicon Valley’s Music@Menlo since 2002, David Finckel and Wu Han have established the festival as a model of innovative thematic programming and educational excellence, earning international acclaim. Music@Menlo’s exclusive recording label, Music@Menlo LIVE, has released over 130 audiophile-quality CDs to date.

Passionately dedicated to education for musicians of all ages and experience, the duo was instrumental in transforming the CMS Two Program into today’s Bowers Program, which admits exceptional young musicians to the CMS roster for a term of three seasons. They also lead the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo, where each summer, around forty young musicians are immersed in the festival’s multi-faceted fabric of the festival. The duo had the privilege of serving as faculty members of the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Encounters in Israel, New York and Japan. Additionally, the Resource section of their website offers free, comprehensive guidance for students on studying music and building careers, as well as invaluable insights for arts organizations and individuals on all aspects of concert presenting.

Born in Taiwan, Wu Han came to the United States as a graduate student, where her exceptional talent quickly garnered the attention of noted musicians. She was mentored by legendary pianists Lilian Kallir, Menahem Pressler, and Rudolf Serkin, thriving at the Marlboro and Aspen Music Festivals before winning the prestigious Andrew Wolf Award. Wu Han currently serves as Artistic Advisor for Wolf Trap’s Chamber Music at the Barns series and for Palm Beach’s Society of the Four Arts, and in 2022, she was appointed Artistic Director of La Musica in Sarasota, Florida.

David Finckel was raised in New Jersey, where he spent his teenage years winning numerous competitions, among them the Philadelphia Orchestra’s junior and senior divisions, leading to two performances with the orchestra. The first American student of Mstislav Rostropovich, he later became the cellist of the Emerson String Quartet, where his 34-season tenure earned the ensemble nine Grammy Awards and the Avery Fisher Prize. David Finckel is also a professor and chamber music at both The Juilliard School and Stony Brook University.

David Finckel and Wu Han married in 1985 and divide their time between touring and residences in New York City and Westchester County.

Benjamin Beilman is one of the leading violinists of his generation. He has won international praise for his passionate performances and deep rich tone which the Washington Post called “mightily impressive,” and The New York Times described as “muscular with a glint of violence.” The Times has also praised his “handsome technique, burnished sound, and quiet confidence,” and the Strad described his playing as “pure poetry.”

Beilman’s 2023-24 season includes his debut with the St. Louis Symphony under Cristian Macelaru, and returns to the Minnesota Orchestra with Elim Chan, the Oregon Symphony with David Danzmayr, and the Pacific Symphony, whom he will play-direct in a program of Vivaldi. The same season will also see six weeks of performances in Europe, including concerts with the SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart alongside Elim Chan, a return to the Kölner Philharmonie with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, and appearances at the Grafenegg Festival, Festpielhaus St. Pölten, and the Musikverein in Vienna with the Tonkünstler Orchester and Tabita Berglund. Beilman will also return to play-direct the London Chamber Orchestra, and will reunite with Ryan Bancroft in making his debut with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and with Roderick Cox in returning to Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie. He will also continue his performances of the Britten Concerto with the Estonian National Symphony.

In April 2022, Beilman became one of the youngest artists to be appointed to the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music, and in March 2024 will lead a Curtis string ensemble in a national tour. 

In recent seasons Beilman’s commitment to and passion for contemporary music, has led to new works written for him by Frederic Rzewski (commissioned by Music Accord), and Gabriella Smith (commissioned by the Schubert Club in St. Paul, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music). He has also given multiple performances of Jennifer Higdon’s violin concerto, and recorded Thomas Larcher’s concerto with Hannu Lintu and the Tonkünstler Orchester, as well as premiered Chris Rogerson’s Violin Concerto (“The Little Prince”) with the Kansas City Symphony and Gemma New. 

In past seasons, Beilman has performed with many major orchestras worldwide including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Taipei Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Zurich Tonhalle, Sydney Symphony, and Houston Symphony. He has also toured Australia in recital under Musica Aviva, including stops in in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, and Sydney. 

Conductors with whom he works include Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Cristian Măcelaru, Lahav Shani, Krzysztof Urbański, Ryan Bancroft, Matthias Pintscher, Gemma New, Karina Canellakis, Jonathon Heyward, Juraj Valčuha, Han-Na Chang, Elim Chan, Roderick Cox, Rafael Payare, Osmo Vänskä, and Giancarlo Guerrero.

In recital and chamber music, Beilman performs regularly at the major halls across the world, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kölner Philharmonie, Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Louvre (Paris), Bunka Kaikan (Tokyo) and at festivals he has performed at Verbier, Aix-en-Provence Easter, Prague Dvorak, Robeco Summer Concerts (Amsterdam), Music@Menlo, Marlboro and Seattle Chamber Music, amongst others. He also continues to perform with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. 

Beilman studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank, and with Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy, and has received many prestigious accolades including a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a London Music Masters Award. He has also recorded works by Stravinsky, Janáček and Schubert for Warner Classics. He perfoms with the ex-Balaković F. X. Tourte bow (c. 1820), and plays the “Ysaÿe” Guarneri del Gesù from 1740, generously on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.