Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

We begin 126 years ago and 910 miles away in the small town of Spillville, Iowa. Just as Princeton University Concerts is born, Czech composer Antonín Dvořák composes his String Quintet, Op. 97 in American farm-country. Drawing on folk tunes and spirituals—many of which he learned from his assistant, African-American composer Harry T. Burleigh—Dvořák set the stage for a new tradition of “American music.”

Hear this lineage evolve in a program also featuring Leonard Bernstein’s very first published work, and culminating in one of the most beloved American masterpieces: Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, in its original instrumentation. As a pupil of Dvořák’s student, Copland wrote this music for Martha Graham’s ballet celebrating American pioneers.

We invite you to come celebrate the frontier of our rich cultural history as together we launch our 126th season!