2026 SEASON
SEPTEMBER 6 - OCTOBER 11
* Artist's Debut at South Mountain Concerts
† South Mountain Debut Performance
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 at 3pm
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
Paul Huang violin, Paul Neubauer viola,
Sterling Elliott* cello, David Shifrin clarinet,
Marc Goldberg* bassoon, Jennifer Montone* horn,
Nina Bernat* double bass
Franz Schubert
String Trio in B-flat Major, D. 581
Francis Poulenc
Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon †
Carl Nielsen
Serenata in vano †
Krzysztof Penderecki
Duo Concertante for Violin and Bass †
Ludwig van Beethoven
Septet in E-flat Major for clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass, Op. 20
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 at 3pm
BRENTANO QUARTET
Mark Steinberg violin, Serena Canin violin,
Misha Amory viola, Nina Lee cello
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quartet in D minor, K. 421
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 at 3pm
TAKÁCS QUARTET
Edward Dusinberre violin, Harumi Rhodes* violin,
Richard O'Neill* viola, Mihai Marica* cello
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6
Carlos Simon
Warmth from Other Suns †
Johannes Brahms
String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4 at 3pm
VIANO QUARTET*
Lucy Wang* violin, Hao Zhou* violin,
Aiden Kane* viola, Tate Zawadiuk* cello
Franz Joseph Haydn
String Quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2
Leoš Janáček
String Quartet No. 1 "The Kreutzer Sonata"
Antonín Dvořák
Selections from "Cypresses," B. 152 †
Felix Mendelssohn
String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2
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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11 at 3pm
SCHUBERT:
THE PIANO TRIOS
Wu Han piano, Benjamin Beilman violin, David Finckel cello
Franz Schubert
Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, D. 898
Franz Schubert
Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat Major, D. 929
ABOUT
OVER 100 YEARS OF WORLD-CLASS MUSIC
South Mountain’s annual concert series presents five concerts each September and October in our historic, celebrated, often sold out 440-seat hall.
Distinguished artists of international renown, such as Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Gary Graffman, Menahem Pressler, Leontyne Price, Rudolph Serkin, and Peter Serkin have appeared here. Pianist Menahem Pressler debuted at the hall as a chamber musician with the Beaux Arts Trio in 1955 and returned fifty times. Illustrious string quartets, including the American, Borromeo, Brentano, Emerson, Guarneri, Juilliard, Orion, St. Lawrence, and Tokyo, have been frequent visitors to our stage. Piano trios have included the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, and Wu Han, David Finckel and Philip Setzer. Other distinguished ensembles have included members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and Wu Han & Friends.
"South Mountain Concerts preserves a chamber music hall of perfect acoustics, idyllic setting, and modest aesthetic with loving care, providing incomparable musical experiences for the devoted listeners of today and the future. With focused, unwavering dedication to artistic excellence, South Mountain Concerts serves as one of America’s most inspiring examples of chamber music presentation at its absolute finest."
—from The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Award for Extraordinary Service to Chamber Music, presented to South Mountain Concerts in 2016
CHAMPIONS OF THE NEW
South Mountain founder Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge was a passionate patron of new music. Over the years, South Mountain has commissioned works from composers including Bloch, Schoenberg, Poulenc, Ravel, and Stravinsky. Recent seasons have seen commissions from Paul Epstein, Ned Rorem, Ezra Laderman, Joan Tower, David del Tredici, and Ellen Taafe Zwilich, among others.
“Our approach to commissioning is conservative. We expect living composers to compose chamber music with the skill and inspiration that has gone into the finest chamber music for hundreds of years. The best musicians we know actively seek out new music that resonates with them. It is very important that the performer is inspired by and becomes a champion of the new music they believe in.”
—David Finckel and Wu Han, Artistic Co-Directors, South Mountain Concerts
THE TEMPLE OF CHAMBER MUSIC
In 1918, when amateur pianist, composer, and Gilded Age patron of the arts Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge wanted to entertain her friends, she built an intimate chamber music concert hall on a pristine 59-acre hilltop in Pittsfield, in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts. Over one hundred years later, South Mountain Concerts is still bringing acclaimed chamber ensembles and soloists of international renown to the Berkshires each fall to perform in the hall that Coolidge built. Next to the South Mountain stage, there hangs a bas-relief sculpture of Elizabeth Coolidge by Henry Kitson, with the inscription "The Fairy Godmother of Chamber Music."
The 440-seat Concert Hall built in 1918 was constructed from the timber of an old textile mill and was christened "The Temple of Chamber Music" for its superb acoustics. Listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings, its classic New England exterior houses a rustic, airy concert space, with seating provided by cushioned antique church pews. Designed exclusively for chamber music, the seamless acoustic shell projects every musical nuance to the back of the hall with perfect clarity and immediacy.
LEADERSHIP, THEN AND NOW
In 1918, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge invited Dutch cellist Willem Willeke of the Kneisel Quartet to serve as the first Director of the Berkshire Festival of Chamber Music (later to become South Mountain Concerts). Willeke led the series until his death in 1950, when he was succeeded by his second wife, Sally Willeke, who handed the series to Lou Steigler in 1987. Steigler revitalized the concert series, shaping it into one of the country's most distinguished chamber music series—a gathering place for the world's greatest artists and a devoted audience.
After more than four decades of inspired leadership, Lou Steigler announced his retirement at the end of 2025. With the blessing of Steigler, South Mountain’s Board of Directors appointed cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han as South Mountain’s new Artistic Co-Directors, and violinist Lydia Chernicoff as its Executive Director.
DAVID FINCKEL AND WU HAN, ARTISTIC CO-DIRECTORS
As Founders and Artistic Co-Directors of Music@Menlo since its inception in 2003—and Artistic Directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) since 2004—David Finckel and Wu Han have shaped the field through their multifaceted careers as performers, recording producers, educators, and cultural entrepreneurs. Recipients of Musical America’s Musicians of the Year award, they have performed globally and produced over 150 recordings on their pioneering ArtistLed label, as well as the Music@Menlo LIVE and CMS Live labels. Their landmark recordings for ArtistLed include the complete cello sonatas of Beethoven as well as works of Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Shostakovich, and Dvořák, alongside pieces by living composers written for and dedicated to the duo. Passionately committed to education, they continue to mentor emerging talent through programs such as the Bowers Program at CMS and Music@Menlo’s Chamber Music Institute.
Cellist David Finckel’s musical career has included performances on the world’s stages in the roles of recitalist, chamber artist, and orchestral soloist. Finckel joined the Emerson String Quartet in 1979 and during 34 seasons garnered nine Grammy Awards and the Avery Fisher Prize. He appears in more than 100 concerts each season in recital with pianist Wu Han across the U.S. and around the world. Activities as a concerto soloist include performances and recordings of the Dvořák Concerto, John Harbison’s Concerto, and Augusta Read Thomas’ Ritual Incantations.
Pianist Wu Han enjoys a musical life that encompasses artistic direction, performing, and recording at the highest levels. Her recent concert activities have taken her from New York’s Lincoln Center stages to the most important concert halls in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In addition to countless performances of virtually the entire chamber repertoire, her concerto performances include appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, and the Aspen Festival Orchestra.
LYDIA CHERNICOFF, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Lydia Chernicoff brings a broad range of experience as a chamber musician, arts administrator and teacher to her role as Executive Director of South Mountain Concerts. As a violinist, she founded Trio Appassionata alongside cellist Andrea Casarrubios and pianist Ronaldo Rolim. Between 2007 and 2022, the Trio performed throughout the U.S. and in Europe, China, and South America, and recorded a CD on the Odradek Records label. She has served on the chamber music faculty of Peabody Conservatory’s Preparatory Division and as the director of the Homewood Chamber Music Program at Johns Hopkins University.
In 2019, Chernicoff founded a concert series in Charleston, South Carolina called New Muse Concerts and served as Executive and Artistic Director for six years. New Muse Concerts presented classical and contemporary chamber music repertoire, partnering with other arts and educational organizations to present free concerts across the city of Charleston.
Lydia grew up in the Berkshires and began her violin studies in Pittsfield with Alla Zernitskaya, going on to receive her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland. She was a four-time recipient of the Willem Willeke Memorial Scholarship from South Mountain Concerts. After twenty years away, she returned to the area in 2025 with her husband and young daughter.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
William Bartz, President
Elizabeth Barbour, Vice President and Clerk
Scott Eldridge, Treasurer
Roger Mullen, Vice President
Peter Bluhm
Pamela Giles
Holly Goodrich
Jason Kittler
Anne Marcure
Eric Martin
John Murphy
Susan Noyes
Clinton Whittemore
THE WILLEM WILLEKE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
In addition to faithfully serving an audience of devoted chamber music lovers, South Mountain Concerts is dedicated to the future of chamber music, awarding scholarships to young musicians from Berkshire County and beyond.
The Willem Willeke Memorial Scholarship was created in 1983 by Sally Willeke and the Board of Directors in honor of the consummate musician Willem Willeke (1879-1950) who served as the first Director of South Mountain Concerts from 1918 to 1950. Willeke’s artistry propelled him from one distinguished role to another, from principal cellist of the Vienna Opera Orchestra to founding cellist of the Elshuco Trio.
Working closely with South Mountain Concerts’ founder and benefactor Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, Willeke set by example the standards of excellence in performance and repertoire that are still the mainstays of the organization, over one hundred years later. In recognition of his extraordinary artistry, South Mountain Concerts seeks to support young musicians with similar passion and dedication in pursuit of excellence.
The application period for the Willem Willeke Memorial Scholarship is March 3 - April 15, 2026.
MAKING A GIFT TO SOUTH
MOUNTAIN CONCERTS
South Mountain Concerts is grateful for donations, large and small. Your gift supports the preservation of our treasured concert hall, the Willem Willeke Scholarship Program, and our renowned annual chamber music series.
To make a gift to South Mountain Concerts please contact our Executive Director, Lydia Chernicoff, at info@southmountainconcerts.org.
TICKETS
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To purchase tickets by email or phone, or if you have questions, please contact us:
Email: info@southmountainconcerts.org
Phone: 413.442.2106
DIRECTIONS
The South Mountain Concert Hall is located at 730 South Street, Pittsfield, MA, 01201.
The driveway is marked by a white sign reading “South Mountain Western Region,” and a panel below it reading “South Mountain Concerts.” Bear right on the dirt road that leads to the parking areas and Concert Hall. For handicapped parking information, please call in advance.