David Finckel and Wu Han Lead South Mountain Concerts

Into a New Chapter as the 2026 Season Unfolds

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PITTSFIELD, MA — Following Lou Steigler’s 42 years of visionary leadership, David Finckel and Wu Han are leading South Mountain Concerts into a new chapter as Artistic Co-Directors. Steigler, who directed the series from 1987 through 2025, shaped South Mountain into one of the country’s most quietly distinguished chamber music series - a gathering place for the world’s greatest artists and a loyal, devoted audience. As Artistic Co-Directors, Finckel and Wu Han continue South Mountain’s tradition of presenting exceptional chamber music and building on the extraordinary legacy Steigler created.

Sunday, September 6, 3pm

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Sunday, September 20, 3pm

Brentano Quartet

\Sunday, September 21, 3pm

Dover String Quartet

Sunday, September 27, 3pm

Takács Quartet

Sunday, October 4, 3pm

Viano Quartet

Sunday, October 11, 3pm

Schubert: The Piano Trios

Wu Han, Ben Beilman & David Finckel

For further information and tickets, contact South Mountain Concerts:

413.442.2106

southmountainconcerts.org

Over 100 Years of Chamber Music Excellence

Located on a picturesque 59-acre hilltop in Pittsfield, in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, South Mountain Concerts has sustained a legacy of world-class chamber music since its founding in 1918 by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, one of history's most impactful American patrons of classical music. With a summer home in Pittsfield, MA, she was inspired by a festival in Blue Hill, Maine. She selected Dutch cellist Willem Willeke, cellist of the Kneisel Quartet, to serve as the first director of the Berkshire Festival of Chamber Music (later to become South Mountain Concerts). Willeke led the series until his death in 1950, when he was succeeded by his second wife, Sally Willeke, who handed the series to Lou Steigler in 1987. A former church music director and organist with five decades of experience, Steigler revitalized the concert series, building a loyal audience and setting the artistic standard of excellence for which South Mountain Concerts is renowned. In 2026, with the blessing of Steigler and the South Mountain board of directors, David Finckel and Wu Han will become the fourth directors in the series' history.

The "Temple of Chamber Music"

The 440-seat Concert Hall, built in 1918 by Coolidge on her mountain property from the timber of an old textile mill, was christened "The Temple of Chamber Music" and is noted for its superb acoustics and is listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. Its classic New England exterior houses a rustic yet warm and comfortable concert space, the audience seated on cushioned antique church pews. Designed exclusively for chamber music, the seamless acoustic shell projects every musical nuance to the back of the hall with perfect clarity and immediacy.

Artists & New Commissions

Distinguished artists of international renown, such as Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Gary Graffman, Menahem Pressler, Leontyne Price, Rudolph Serkin, and Peter Serkin have appeared there. Pianist Menahem Pressler debuted at the hall as a chamber musician with the Beaux Art Trio in 1955 and returned 50 times. String quartets including the American, Borromeo, Brentano, Emerson, Guarneri, Juilliard, Orion, St. Lawrence, and Tokyo, have been frequent visitors to their stage. Piano trios have included the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson, and Wu Han, David Finckel and Philip Setzer. Other distinguished ensembles include members of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and Wu Han & Friends.

A composer herself, Coolidge was a great patron of new music. Over the years, South Mountain has commissioned works from composers including Bloch, Schoenberg, Poulenc, Ravel, and Stravinsky, among many others. Recent seasons have seen commissions from Paul Epstein, Ned Rorem, Ezra Laderman, Joan Tower, David del Tredici, and Ellen Taafe Zwilich, among others.

Community Engagement & Recognition

In addition to faithfully serving an audience hungry for quality chamber music every season, South Mountain Concerts also fosters young talent by awarding scholarships to young musicians from Berkshire County.

In 2016, South Mountain Concerts received the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Award for Extraordinay Service to Chamber Music, presented to Lou Steigler on the stage of Alice Tully Hall in New York City.

David Finckel and Wu Han

Cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han, Artistic Directors Laureate of Music@Menlo and Artistic Directors of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) since 2004, David Finckel and Wu Han have shaped the field through their multifaceted careers as performers, recording producers, educators, and cultural entrepreneurs. Their leadership also extends to The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach and La Musica Chamber Music Festival in Sarasota, where Wu Han serves as Artistic Director. 

Recipients of Musical America’s Musicians of the Year award, they have performed globally and produced over 150 recordings on their pioneering ArtistLed label, as well as the Music@Menlo LIVE and CMS Live labels. Their landmark recordings for ArtistLed include the complete cello sonatas of Beethoven as well as works of Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Shostakovich, and Dvořák, alongside pieces by living composers written for and dedicated to the duo. Passionately committed to education, they have mentored generations of emerging musicians through programs such as the Bowers Program at CMS and Music@Menlo’s Chamber Music Institute.

www.davidfinckelandwuhan.com

PRESS TICKETS & INQUIRIES

Milina Barry P.R.

212.420.0200

mbprnews@gmail.com