Seattle Chamber Music Society Announces 2026 Winter Festival, January 23–February 1

Festival Highlights include Performance of J.S. Bach’s Complete Brandenburg Concertos on January 30

(Photo credit: Jenna Poppe/SCMS)
Download high-res photo here

Seattle, Sept. 8, 2025 – The Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS) announces the programming for its 2026 Winter Festival, running January 23-February 1. Over the course of six concerts, acclaimed classical musicians will collaborate on 22 exceptional chamber works by Beethoven, Beach, Dohnányi, Dvořák, Haydn, Mozart, Ravel, and Schubert, among others, with a festival highlight being the January 30 performance of J.S. Bach’s complete Brandenburg Concertos.

Musicians performing at the 2026 SCMS Winter Festival include festival artistic director James Ehnes, pianists Inon Barnatan and Anton Nel; violinist Benjamin Bowman; harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani; violists Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt and Cynthia Phelps, and horn player Radovan Vlatković. (A full list of performers follows.)

"The Winter Festival is a powerful testament to Chamber Music’s enduring relevance and role as a cultural magnet. It’s meaningful to welcome such extraordinary musicians to Seattle to collaborate on these incredible works. It’s moving to feel the audience’s response to these shared experiences and inspiring to know that our virtual reach now connects us across the U.S. and into more than a dozen countries," said James Ehnes, the Gilbert Omenn and Martha Darling Artistic Director of SCMS, who performs in every concert.

Complementing the five-week Summer Festival and six-concert Signature Series, the Winter Festival is one of the ways SCMS presents exceptional performances year-round. Concerts take place at Nordstrom Recital Hall, Benaroya Hall. Each program is preceded by a free pre-concert performance.

Fans of chamber music worldwide may also stream the concerts live through SCMS’s Virtual Concert Hall and/or enjoy each program on-demand, starting two weeks after each live performance and continuing through March 15. Produced by Simon Kiln, an award-winning classical producer and editor, the Virtual Concert Hall captures concerts from seven high-definition camera angles using top audio/video production and equipment. In addition to performances, the Virtual Concert Hall invites audiences into the music through behind-the-scenes footage, introductions from the artists, and live intermission shows.

SCMS Winter Festival program details follow. Discounted early-bird season subscriptions are on sale now HERE; single tickets go on sale October 20 (no fees added on subscriptions or single-ticket sales through December 1). Visit seattlechambermusic.org.

Seattle Chamber Music Society: 2026 Winter Festival
January 23–February 1 | Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall

Musicians: Joseph Kaufman (bass); Seth Krimsky (bassoon); Edward Arron, Ani Aznavoorian, Efe Baltacıgil, Brant Taylor, and Bion Tsang (cello); Jeffrey Barker and Demarre McGill (flute); Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord); Jeffrey Fair and Radovan Vlatković (horn); Donovan Bown, Stefan Farkas, and Benjamin Hausmann (oboe); Mari Yoshinaga (percussion); Inon Barnatan, Alessio Bax, Anton Nel, and Jeewon Park, (piano); Jens Lindemann (trumpet); Che-Yen Chen, Beth Guterman Chu, David Harding, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, and Cynthia Phelps (viola), and Benjamin Bowman, James Ehnes, Njioma Grevious, Bella Hristova, Amy Schwartz Moretti, and Andrew Wan (violin).

(Photo credit: Jenna Poppe/SCMS)

—FRIDAY, JANUARY 23—

Pre-Concert
SCMS Youth Academy for Chamber Music musicians

CONCERT

• Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 5 in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1, “Ghost”

• Allegro vivace e con brio

• Largo assai ed espressivo

• Presto

Inon Barnatan, piano
Bella Hristova, violin
Efe Baltacıgil, cello

• Amy Beach: String Quartet, Op. 89

Njioma Grevious, violin
Benjamin Bowman, violin
Beth Guterman Chu, viola
Bion Tsang, cello

• Franz Schubert: Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 114, D. 667, “Trout”

• Allegro vivace

• Andante

• Scherzo. Presto — Trio

• Thema. Andantino — Variazioni. Allegretto

• Finale. Allegro giusto

Alessio Bax, piano
James Ehnes, violin
Cynthia Phelps, viola
Ani Aznavoorian, cello
Joseph Kaufman, bass

—SATURDAY, JANUARY 24—

Pre-Concert
George Enescu: Sonata No. 3 for violin and piano, Op. 25, “Dans le caractère populaire roumain” (Bella Hristova, violin; Alessio Bax, piano)

• Moderato malinconico

• Andante sostenuto e misterioso

• Allegro con brio, ma non troppo mosso

CONCERT

• Zoltán Kodály: Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7

• Allegro serioso, non troppo

• Adagio — Andante — Tempo I

• Maestoso e largamente ma non troppo lento — Presto 

Benjamin Bowman, violin
Ani Aznavoorian, cello

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, K. 493

• Allegro

• Larghetto

• Allegretto

Alessio Bax, piano
Njioma Grevious, violin
Cynthia Phelps, viola
Efe Baltacıgil, cello

• Ernő Dohnányi: Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1

• Allegro

• Scherzo. Allegro vivace

• Adagio, quasi andante

• Finale. Allegro animato — Allegro

Inon Barnatan, piano
James Ehnes, violin
Bella Hristova, violin
Beth Guterman Chu, viola
Bion Tsang, cello

—SUNDAY, JANUARY 25—

Pre-Concert
Music and Improvisations for cello and percussion (Efe Baltacıgil, cello; Mari Yoshinaga, percussion)

CONCERT

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Trio in B-flat Major, K. 502

• Allegro

• Larghetto

• Allegretto

Alessio Bax, piano
Benjamin Bowman, violin
Ani Aznavoorian, cello

• Sergei Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 94a

• Moderato

• Scherzo. Presto

• Andante

• Allegro con brio

Inon Barnatan, piano
Bella Hristova, violin

• Antonín Dvořák: String Sextet in A Major, Op. 48

• Allegro moderato

• Dumka (Elegie). Poco allegro

• Furiant. Presto

• Finale. Tema con variazioni. Allegretto grazioso, quasi andantino

James Ehnes, violin
Njioma Grevious, violin
Cynthia Phelps, viola
Beth Guterman Chu, viola
Bion Tsang, cello
Efe Baltacıgil, cello

—FRIDAY, JANUARY 30—

Pre-Concert
[Program TBA] (Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord)

CONCERT

• Johann Sebastian Bach: Concerto No. 1 in F Major, Brandenburg, BWV 1046

• (no tempo indication)

• Adagio

• Allegro

• Menuetto— Trio I — Polacca — Trio II

• Bach: Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Brandenburg, BWV 1047

• (no tempo indication)

• Andante

• Allegro assai

• Bach: Concerto No. 3 in G Major, Brandenburg, BWV 1048

• (no tempo indication)

• Adagio

• Allegro

• Bach: Concerto No. 4 in F Major, Brandenburg, BWV 1049

• Allegro

• Andante

• Presto

• Bach: Concerto No. 5 in D Major, Brandenburg, BWV 1050

• Allegro

• Affettuoso

• Allegro

• Bach: Concerto No. 6 in B-flat Major, Brandenburg, BWV 1051

• (no tempo indication)

• Adagio ma non troppo

• Allegro

Featured musicians for the Brandenburgs:

Edward Arron, cello
Efe Baltacıgil, cello
Jeffrey Barker, flute
Donovan Bown, oboe
Che-Yen Chen, viola
James Ehnes, violin
Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord
Jeffrey Fair, horn
Stefan Farkas, oboe
David Harding, viola
Benjamin Hausmann, oboe 
Joseph Kaufman, bass 
Seth Krimsky, bassoon
Jens Lindemann, trumpet
Demarre McGill, flute
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola
Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin
Brant Taylor, cello
Radovan Vlatković, horn
Andrew Wan, violin

—SATURDAY, JANUARY 31—

Pre-Concert
Schubert: Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946 (Anton Nel, piano)

CONCERT

• Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber: Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes, for Trumpet, Violin, 2 Violas & Continuo, No. 4 in C Major, C. 117

• Allegro

• Presto

• Adagio

• Allegro

Jens Lindemann, trumpet
Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord
Andrew Wan, violin
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola
David Harding, viola
Brant Taylor, cello

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Horn Quintet in E-flat Major, K. 407

• Allegro

• Andante

• Rondo. Allegro

Radovan Vlatković, horn
Andrew Wan, violin
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola
David Harding, viola
Brant Taylor, cello

• Franz Schubert: Fantasie in F minor, Op. 103, D. 940 (piano four hands) 

Anton Nel, piano
Jeewon Park, piano

• Maurice Ravel: String Quartet in F Major

• Allegro moderato — Très doux

• Assez vif — Très rythmé

• Très lent

• Vif et agité

James Ehnes, violin
Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin
Che-Yen Chen, viola
Edward Arron, cello

—SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1—

Pre-Concert
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2, “Sun,” Hob.III:32 (Ehnes Quartet)

• Moderato

• Capriccio. Adagio - Cantabile

• Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio

• Fuga a 4 soggetti. Allegro

CONCERT

• Ludwig van Beethoven: Horn Sonata in F Major, Op. 17 

• Allegro moderato

• Poco adagio, quasi andante

• Rondo - Allegro moderato

Radovan Vlatković, horn
Anton Nel, piano

• Ernest Chausson: Piano Quartet in A Major, Op. 30

• Animé

• Très calme

• Simple et sans hâte

• Animé

Jeewon Park, piano
Andrew Wan, violin
David Harding, viola
Brant Taylor, cello

• Antonín Dvořák: String Quintet No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97, “American”

• Allegro non tanto

• Allegro vivo

• Larghetto

• Allegro giusto

James Ehnes, violin
Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin
Che-Yen Chen, viola
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola
Edward Arron, cello

To order discounted season subscriptions, click HERE. Single tickets go on sale Oct. 20.

About Seattle Chamber Music Society
The mission of Seattle Chamber Music Society is to cultivate a deep appreciation for chamber music by presenting exceptional performances in welcoming and accessible formats. Through education, community engagement, and a commitment to excellence, SCMS seeks to position chamber music as a central cultural force, both locally and globally, while ensuring its enduring relevance and sustainability. 

Each year, SCMS presents a Winter Festival in January and a Summer Festival in July at the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, bringing the world’s finest classical musicians to the stage. These intimate chamber music performances captivate both seasoned enthusiasts and newcomers alike. In addition to its renowned festivals, SCMS offers an expanded year-round lineup, including the new Signature Series, Crescendo Concerts in Seattle’s most stunning homes, and Concerts at the Center for Chamber Music, providing unparalleled access to extraordinary musical experiences. 

SCMS also enriches the community through dynamic engagement programs designed for audiences of all ages. From inspiring young learners in elementary schools to enriching lives in retirement communities, and from performances in hospitals and parks to concerts on wheels, SCMS remains steadfast in its mission to bring world-class chamber music to every corner of our community. seattlechambermusic.org 

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