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Philip Setzer / David Finckel / Wu Han

Philip Setzer

Violinist Philip Setzer is a founding member of the Emerson String Quartet, which has received eight Grammy Awards, three Gramophone Awards, and the coveted Avery Fisher Prize, and has performed cycles of the complete Beethoven, Bartók, and Shostakovich string quartets in the world's musical capitals, from New York to Vienna. The Noise of Time, a groundbreaking theater collaboration between the Emerson Quartet and Simon McBurney--about the life of Shostakovich--was based on an original idea of Mr. Setzer's.

As a soloist, he has appeared on several occasions with The Cleveland Orchestra, with the Aspen Chamber Orchestra, and also with the National, Memphis, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, Omaha and Anchorage Symphonies. In 1976, Philip Setzer won a bronze medal at the Queen Elisabeth International Competition in Brussels. He has also participated in the Marlboro Music Festival.

Mr. Setzer is a tenured Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Stony Brook University and has given master classes at schools around the world. He has been a regular faculty member of the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshops at Carnegie Hall and the Jerusalem Music Center. His article about those workshops appeared in The New York Times on the occasion of Isaac Stern's 80th birthday celebration in 2001.

Mr. Setzer studied violin with Josef Gingold and Rafael Druian, at The Juilliard School with Oscar Shumsky, and also studied chamber music with Robert Mann and Felix Galimir.


David Finckel

Cellist David Finckel's multifaceted career as concert performer, recording artist, educator, arts administrator, and cultural entrepreneur places him in the ranks of today's most influential classical musicians.

He has been hailed as a "world class soloist" (Denver Post) and "one of the top ten, if not top five, cellists in the world today" (Nordwest Zeitung, Germany). Highlights of recent seasons include recitals throughout North America with pianist Wu Han; the world premiere performance of Gabriela Lena Frank's Compadrazgo with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra (Columbus, OH); and the world premiere of Pierre Jalbert's Cello Sonata at the Aspen Music Festival. A new work for cello and piano by award-winning composer George Tsontakis is scheduled to be performed by Wu Han and David Finckel during the 2008-2009 season. Additional solo and chamber appearances include the Aspen Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Music@Menlo, and over one hundred concerts annually as cellist of the Grammy Award winning Emerson String Quartet. Other recent appearances as orchestral soloist include Elgar's Cello Concerto Op. 85 with the Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Shostakovich's First Concerto and the Beethoven Triple Concerto (with Wu Han and violinist Margaret Batjer) with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, as well as performances and recordings of the Dvorák Concerto and Augusta Read Thomas's Ritual Incantations with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, and John Harbison's Cello Concerto with the Albany Symphony.

David Finckel's expansive musical activities include the launch of ArtistLed, classical music's first musician directed, Internet based recording company, which, in 2007, celebrated its tenth year. The Denver Post described ArtistLed as "a classical music breakthrough." The label's "Russian Classics" recording received BBC Music Magazine's coveted "Editor's Choice" award. ArtistLed recently released David Finckel's recording of the Dvorák Concerto and Augusta Read Thomas's Ritual Incantations, and this season will release its eleventh album, a recording of the Schubert piano trios, featuring David Finckel, Wu Han, and violinist Philip Setzer.

David Finckel and Wu Han serve as Artistic Directors of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In recent years, they have become widely recognized for their initiatives in expanding audiences for classical music, and for guiding the careers of countless young musicians. They are also the founders and Artistic Directors of Music@Menlo, a chamber music festival in Silicon Valley that has garnered international acclaim since its inception in 2003. Prior to launching Music@Menlo, Wu Han and David Finckel served for three seasons as Artistic Directors of SummerFest La Jolla.


Wu Han

Pianist Wu Han ranks among the most esteemed and influential classical musicians in the world today. Her career has taken her to many of the world's most prestigious venues, including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Washington's Kennedy Center. She has toured North and South America, Europe, and the Far East, and her regular summer festival appearances include Aspen, Santa Fe, Chamber Music Northwest, Caramoor, and Music@Menlo. Wu Han is active as a concerto soloist as well, recently appearing with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in a performance of the Beethoven Triple Concerto. Wu Han is a frequent collaborator with many of today's finest musicians and ensembles, including the Borromeo, Emerson, Pacifica, and St. Lawrence Quartets.

With cellist David Finckel, Wu Han performs extensively across the United States and Europe to unanimous critical acclaim. Last season, the duo gave the world premiere of Pierre Jalbert's Cello Sonata at the Aspen Music Festival, and this season will be giving the world premiere of a new work for cello and piano by award-winning composer George Tsontakis. During the 2006-07 season, Wu Han and David Finckel made their recital debut at The Morgan Library & Museum's new Gilder Lehman Hall in New York, where they returned to perform in 2007-08.

Wu Han's wide-ranging musical activities include the founding of ArtistLed, classical music's first musician-directed, Internet-based recording company, which, in 2007, celebrated its tenth year. All ten ArtistLed recordings have received critical acclaim and are available via the company's website (www.artistled.com). ArtistLed's recent release, "Russian Recital" features works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Scriabin, and marks Wu Han's first full-length solo recording for the label. This season, ArtistLed releases its eleventh album, a recording of the Schubert piano trios, featuring David Finckel, Wu Han, and violinist Philip Setzer.

Wu Han and David Finckel serve as Artistic Directors of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In recent years, they have become widely recognized for their initiatives in expanding audiences for classical music, and for guiding the careers of countless young musicians. They are the founders and Artistic Directors of Music@Menlo, a chamber music festival in Silicon Valley. Prior to launching Music@Menlo, Wu Han and David Finckel served for three seasons as Artistic Directors of La Jolla SummerFest.