“America at 250” Festival I with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Sunday, February 1, 2026, 3:00PM
$40
No charge for Four Arts members

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress declared independence from the British Empire, marking the founding of the United States of America. To celebrate the
250th anniversary of that historic event, Four Arts Artistic Advisor Wu Han has curated a bespoke festival of American chamber music for the audience in Palm Beach. Across three concerts, you will hear everything from folk songs first published in the 19th century to masterpieces by composers of the 20th century to the incomparable excitement of American movie music.

American composers tell stunning stories in the first concert of the festival. Percy Gottschalk takes us on a tour of the union with showstopping, anthem-filled piano music. Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, originally a ballet about a young couple starting lives on a homestead, is a milestone work of Americana culminating in a rousing chorus of Simple Gifts. Plus, a concert version of the score that Bernard Herrmann wrote for the film Psycho is full of thrills and chills.

Generously supported by the Chisholm Foundation

ARTISTS:
SAHUN SAM HONG, piano                                 STERLING ELLIOTT, cello
CHAD HOOPES, violin                                         DAVID FINCKEL, cello
SEAN LEE, violin                                                   ANTHONY MANZO, double bass
RICHARD LIN, violin                                             TARA HELEN O’CONNOR, flute
DANIEL PHILLIPS, violin                                        DAVID SHIFRIN, clarinet
LAWRENCE DUTTON, viola                                  MARC GOLDBERG, bassoon
MATTHEW LIPMAN, viola

PROGRAM:

The Union, Concert                               LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK (1829–1869)
Paraphrase on National Airs for Piano, Op. 48 (1862)
HONG
Nocturne and Scherzo for Flute                      ARTHUR FOOTE (1853–1937)
and String Quartet (1918)
Nocturne (“A Night Piece”): Andantino languido
Scherzo: Vivace
O’CONNOR, LEE, PHILLIPS, LIPMAN, FINCKEL

Psycho: A Narrative for String                          BERNARD HERRMANN (1911–1975)
Ensemble (1960, rev. 1968, ed. Mauceri 1999)
Prelude—
The Madhouse—
The Murder—
The Water—
The Swamp—
The Stairs, the Knife, and the Cellar—
Finale
HOOPES, PHILLIPS, LIN, LEE, DUTTON, LIPMAN, ELLIOTT, FINCKEL, MANZO

~ INTERMISSION ~

Selections from The Social                                STEPHEN FOSTER (1826–1864)
Orchestra for Ensemble
(1854, arr. O’Connor)
Village Quadrille No. 1
Jeannie’s Own Schottisch
Beautiful Dreamer
Village Quadrille No. 4
HONG, PHILLIPS, LIN, LEE, HOOPES, DUTTON, LIPMAN, ELLIOTT, FINCKEL, MANZO, O’CONNOR, SHIFRIN, GOLDBERG

Appalachian Spring Suite                                            AARON COPLAND (1900–1990)
for Ensemble (1944)
HONG, LIN, HOOPES, PHILLIPS, LEE, LIPMAN, DUTTON, FINCKEL, ELLIOTT, MANZO, O’CONNOR, SHIFRIN, GOLDBERG