Cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han enjoy a multifaceted musical partnership that encompasses performing, recording and artistic direction at the highest levels.
Their music making has brought them to Athens many times. They return for a recital Friday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Hodgson Concert Hall, bringing with them an all-Beethoven program that gives glimpses into the creative mind of the young composer.
The program includes “Sonata in F major, Op. 5, No. 1” (1796), “Sonata in G minor, Op. 5 No. 2” (1796), 12 variations on “See the conqu’ring hero comes” from Handel’s Judas Maccabeus WwO 545 (1797), and “Sonata in A major, Op. 69”(1807-08).
This event launches the UGA Presents Dynamic Duos series of four concerts within the larger Performing Arts Center season. Violinist Maxim Vengerov and pianist Polina Osetinskaya appear Nov. 15. Clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Emanuel Ax perform Feb. 2. And flutist Brandon Patrick George is joined by harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani on April 18.
Finckel and Han are the recipients of Musical America’s Musicians of the Year Award, the highest honor bestowed by the organization. Their concert activities have taken them from New York’s stages to the most important concert halls in the United States, Europe and Asia.
They have served as artistic directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) since 2004, one of eleven constituents of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the largest arts complex in the world. Under their artistic direction, through performances, education and recording/broadcast activities, their programming draws more people to chamber music than any other organization of its kind.
Born in Taiwan, Han came to the United States as a graduate student, where her talent quickly came to the attention of noted musicians. Mentored by legendary pianists such as Lilian Kallir, Menahem Pressler and Rudolf Serkin, Han thrived at the Marlboro and Aspen Music Festivals and subsequently won the prestigious Andrew Wolf Award. She currently serves as artistic advisor for Wolf Trap’s Chamber Music at the Barns series and for Palm Beach’s Society of the Four Arts and was named artistic director of La Musica in Sarasota, Florida, in 2022.
Finckel was raised in New Jersey, where he spent his teenage years winning competitions, among them the Philadelphia Orchestra’s junior and senior divisions, resulting in two performances with the orchestra. The first American student of Mstislav Rostropovich, Finckel went on to become the cellist of the Emerson String Quartet, which, during his 34-season tenure, garnered nine Grammy Awards and the Avery Fisher Prize. Finckel is a professor at both the Juilliard School and Stony Brook University.
Together they also run their ArtistLed record label and serve as artistic directors of Silicon Valley’s Music@Menlo festival, which they founded.
This performance is supported by Sandy Strother Hudson and Cecil C. Hudson.
Three ways to get tickets
- Purchase tickets online at pac.uga.edu.
- Call the Performing Arts Center box office at 706-542-4400, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Visit the UGA Performing Arts Center box office, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (five-minute parking is available in the drop off circle at the Performing Arts Center for purchasing or picking up tickets.)
To learn more about all UGA Performing Arts Center events, visit pac.uga.edu.