This concert is invitation only.

The American Academy in Rome is presenting in concert at the Villa Aurelia, the Manhattan String Quartet. Performing a program that includes movements from two AAR Rome Prize Fellows in musical composition, Samuel Barber (FAAR 1935–37), and Aaron Copland (FAAR 1951), the Manhattan String Quartet will also be interpreting pieces by Mozart, Wolf, Palestrina, and Gesualdo.

The Manhattan String Quartet established a significant international reputation with regular concert appearances throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. After a series of concerts in Moscow and Leningrad in the fall of 1985, the Quartet became the first American classical ensemble to give a full tour of the Soviet Union under that era’s new cultural agreement. In 2005, the Quartet made its first tour of Asia and played to sold-out houses in Nagoya and Tokyo, Japan. Notable among its many recordings is the complete cycle of 15 Shostakovich string quartets that TIME Magazine called “One of the most important musical events of 1991.”

About the Manhattan String Quartet

Hailed by the Boston Globe as “a national treasure”, the Manhattan String Quartet is an American ensemble with a long and illustrious history of performances, touring, commissioning and teaching. Currently in its 48th season, with Curt Macomber and Sunghae Anna Lim, violinists, Marka Gustavsson on viola and Chris Finckel on cello, the ensemble has developed an international reputation in performance as well as chamber music education. The quartet organizes innovative programs throughout the year, collaborating with scholars, composers and performers. The Quartet’s activities include hosting its own annual KentMusic String Quartet Conference and annual European conferences focusing on major works in the string quartet repertoire.

Well known for their performances of 20th-century “classics,” the Manhattan Quartet in its early years established a significant international reputation with regular concert appearances throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Quartet became an advocate of contemporary music through the commission and performance of new works, most recently from Laura Kaminsky (American Nocturne), Eric Moe (The Salt of Broken Tears), Craig Walsh (String Quartet), Steve Ricks (The Pure Forces’ Gravity), and Laurie Altman (Shirakawa River Song). This season the quartet premiered David DelTredici’s 2nd piano quintet in New York City and plans to record the work next year.

The group has been Quartet-in-Residence at Colgate University and has held similar posts at the Manhattan School of Music, Cornell University, Grinnell College, Western Connecticut State University, the Chamber Music Institute in Racine, Wisconsin, Connecticut’s Music Mountain Festival and Michigan’s Interlochen National Music Camp.

Curtis Macomber is the violinist of the Da Capo Chamber Players since 2007, a founder of the Apollo Trio, and a member of the Manhattan String Quartet since 2011. Previously, he was also a member of the pioneering Speculum Musicae, and as a member of the New World String Quartet, he performed on nearly all of America’s leading concert series and toured widely abroad. He is on the faculties of the Juilliard school (his alma mater), Manhattan School of Music, and New School’s Mannes College of Music, and has also taught at the Tanglewood, Taos, and Yellow Barn Music Festivals. He has performed in hundreds of premieres, and his extensive discography includes the complete Brahms and Grieg Sonatas, as well as critically praised recordings of many dozens of contemporary solo and chamber works.

Violinist Sunghae Anna Lim plays with diverse chamber ensembles and joined the Manhattan String Quartet in 2019. A founding member of the Laurel Piano Trio, she won the ProPiano and Concert Artists Guild Competitions and has performed extensively throughout the US. As the violinist of the Naumburg Award-winning New Millennium Ensemble, she has premiered and recorded the music of numerous 20th and 21st century composers. Anna also is also an avid baroque violinist and has played with many early music groups since her time as a student of Nikolaus Harnoncourt in Salzburg. A devoted teacher, she has taught violin and chamber music for 20 years at Princeton University and is on the faculty of the Maine Chamber Music Seminar and the Composers Conference. Anna is the faculty advisor for Princeton University’s Trenton Youth Orchestra, an El Sistema-inspired program for children from Trenton. She received a BA from Harvard University in History and Literature and completed her Diplom at the Mozarteum under violinist Sandor Vegh.

A dedicated chamber musician and current member of the Manhattan String Quartet, violist Marka Gustavsson enjoys a varied performance schedule. She has been a guest at festivals including Bard Music Festival, Mostly Mozart, Vancouver’s Music in the Morning, WQXR’s Showcase, Yale Faculty Artists. Marka has performed chamber works of John Halle, Joan Tower, Kyle Gann, Harold Farberman, George Tsontakis, Martin Bresnick, Richard Wernick, Laura Kaminsky, Tania Leon, and Tan Dun. From 1999 through 2014, Marka belonged to the award-winning Colorado Quartet. Marka holds a position at Bard College and Conservatory, overseeing the Chamber Music Program. In the summer, she coaches chamber music for the Young Artists’ Program of Yellow Barn in Putney, VT. At home in Red Hook, NY, she loves eating, reading, and hiking with her husband, pianist and composer John Halle, son Ben, and Russell—the dog.

Cellist Chris Finckel has been a member of the Manhattan String Quartet for 30 years. Trained at the Curtis Institute of Music, Mr. Finckel continued his musical education in the vital classical music world of New York City in the late 20th century. A member of the New York New Music Ensemble, Mr. Finckel has been privileged to be involved in countless premieres, tours and recordings of the works of America’s finest composers. He has been on the faculty of the CUNY Graduate Center and Sarah Lawrence College. Since 2011 Mr. Finckel has been the co-founder and artistic director of the Sarajevo Chamber Music Festival. Mr Finckel lives with his wife, violinist Deborah Wong and is thrilled to know his two children, scenic designer Emeline and percussionist Paul.