Press Release: Saratoga Performing Arts Center Announces Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center to Perform Bach’s Complete Brandenburg Concertos for the First Time in Saratoga
August 7, 2025
Saratoga Performing Arts Center Announces
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center to Perform
Bach’s Complete Brandenburg Concertos
Appearance marks the first time CMS has performed
the full cycle of concertos at SPAC
Presented as part of SPAC’s Sounds of the Season Holiday Series
December 13 at 5 p.m. | Arthur Zankel Music Center
Saratoga Springs, NY (August 7, 2025) — Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) announces that Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) will perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Complete Brandenburg Concertos on Saturday, December 13 at 5 p.m. at Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College. A longtime holiday tradition at Lincoln Center, this special Saratoga appearance marks the first time in SPAC’s 12-year partnership with CMS that the full cycle of all six concertos will be performed locally by the acclaimed group.
CMS’s performances of the Brandenburg Concertos have been described by The New Yorker as “joyous, effervescent, and yes, festive.” Part of SPAC’s Sounds of the Season holiday series, the evening will feature twenty world-class CMS musicians, bringing one of the Baroque era’s most iconic masterworks to life.
“There is no more radiant expression of collective artistry than the Brandenburg Concertos. To share this transcendent holiday tradition with our community—and to do so for the first time in its entirety with these extraordinary musicians—is both a gift and a celebration of all that we strive to bring to SPAC year-round,” says Elizabeth Sobol, Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Performing Arts Center. “We are grateful to our partners at Skidmore College and Zankel Hall for opening their doors for this special performance while our Spa Little Theater undergoes renovation.”
Composed in the early 18th century, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos stand as a towering testament to human creativity. Each concerto is written for a unique ensemble of instruments—ranging from the brilliant interplay of flutes, violins, and harpsichord to the bold sonorities of horns and violas—offering a thrilling variety of sounds and styles. Collectively, the six concertos capture the spirit of innovation, exuberance, and joy that defines Bach’s music and the Baroque period as a whole.
Part of its year-round presence in Saratoga Springs, the announcement precedes Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s final concerts of the summer season with “The Viano String Quartet” on August 10 and “Shostakovich and Dohnányi” on August 17, which also mark the final performances in Spa Little Theater before it temporarily closes for renovation.
Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos will be presented in the intimate and acoustically vibrant Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College, a longtime SPAC education and community partner. Tickets will be available to purchase at spac.org beginning on August 8 for members (tiered by level) and August 15 for the general public.
The performance is part of SPAC’s annual Sounds of the Season holiday series, which will be announced later this fall.
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center:
SAT, DEC 13 | 5PM: Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos
MIKA SASAKI, Harpsichord
FRANCISCO FULLANA, Violin
BELLA HRISTOVA, Violin
DANIEL PHILLIPS, Violin
TIEN-HSIN CINDY WU, Violin/Viola
MATTHEW LIPMAN, Viola
PAUL NEUBAUER, Viola
DMITRI ATAPINE, Cello
NICHOLAS CANELLAKIS, Cello
STERLING ELLIOTT, Cello
NINA BERNAT, Double Bass
SOOYUN KIM, Flute
TARA HELEN O’CONNOR, Flute
RANDALL ELLIS, Oboe
JAMES AUSTIN SMITH, Oboe
STEPHEN TAYLOR, Oboe
MARC GOLDBERG, Bassoon
STEWART ROSE, Horn
TANNER WEST, Horn
DAVID WASHBURN, Trumpet
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 (1720)
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046 (1720)
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 (1720)
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050 (1720)
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051 (1720)
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049 (1720)
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Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), located in the historic resort town of Saratoga Springs in upstate New York, is one of America’s most prestigious outdoor amphitheaters. Its tranquil setting in a 2,400-acre park preserve surrounded by hiking trails, geysers, and natural mineral springs draws lovers of arts, culture and nature for performances by resident companies New York City Ballet, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Saratoga Jazz Festival, and concerts by Live Nation. SPAC also hosts imaginative programming such as Caffè Lena @ SPAC and initiatives in culinary, literary, healing and visual arts.
SPAC is a 501c3 charitable organization. Donations and proceeds from fundraising events benefit the Center’s thriving education program, community outreach efforts, and the vibrancy of its programming. For more information visit spac.org.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) is one of eleven constituents of the largest performing arts complex in the world, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Through its many performances, education, recording, digital, and broadcast activities, CMS brings the experience of great chamber music to more people than any other organization of its kind with a full season in New York, as well as national and international tours. Under the artistic leadership of David Finckel and Wu Han, CMS presents a wide variety of concert series and educational events for listeners of all ages, appealing to both connoisseurs and newcomers. The performing artists constitute a revolving multi-generational and international roster of the world’s best chamber musicians, enabling CMS to present chamber music of every instrumentation, style, and historical period. The CMS Bowers Program, its competitive three-season residency, is dedicated to developing the chamber music leaders of the future and integrates this selection of extraordinary early-career musicians into every facet of CMS activities. Its incomparable digital presence, which regularly enables CMS to reach hundreds of thousands of viewers and listeners around the globe annually, includes: a growing number of live-streamed programs; more than 1,000 hours of performance and education videos free to the public on its website; a 52-week public radio series across the US; radio programming in Taiwan and mainland China; appearances on American Public Media; the monthly program “In Concert with CMS” on the ALL ARTS broadcast channel; the NY-Emmy-nominated documentary “Transcending: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Celebrates 50 Years;” and performances featured on Medici.tv, Tencent, and SiriusXM’s Symphony Hall channel.