Free ‘Front Row: National’ streams continue with ‘Brandenburg Concertos’ starting Jan. 20

The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State will continue to host the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s free online concert series “Front Row: National” through the spring 2021 season. The first program is “Bach: The Complete Brandenburg Concertos,” which will be available free to stream for a week, from 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20–7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27. During an intermission, organization Co-artistic Directors David Finckel and WuHan will host a discussion with bassist Joseph Conyers, horn player Jennifer Montone, violist Paul Neubauer and pianist-harpsichordist Hyeyeon Park. The society’s presentation features all six works in Johann Sebastian Bach’s collection, composed in 1720 for the Margrave of Brandenburg, who historians say did not publicly acknowledge Bach’s submission. The manuscripts — considered definitive works of Baroque music — were found at the late margrave’s estate in 1734 and finally published in 1850. Visit Center for the Performing Arts online for more details about the performing musicians and viewing. The program is part of the Center for the Performing Arts “Up Close and Virtual” spring season. Contributions from the members of the center and a grant from the University Park Student Fee Board help make the program free of charge. Finckel and Han previously performed at the Center for the Performing Arts as a duo in 2005, and with violinist Philip Setzer in 2017 and 2018 for the Beethoven Piano Trios. Finckel also performed at Penn State—in 1990, 2002 and 2009—when he was a member of Emerson String Quartet. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is one of 11 constituents of the largest performing arts complex in the world, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts—which includes the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Lincoln Center Theater and The Metropolitan Opera. The society is known for the extraordinary quality of its performances and its programming, and for setting the benchmark for chamber music worldwide. Geisinger and Northwest provide support for virtual presentations by the Center for the Performing Arts. Find the Center for the Performing Arts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.