Naumburg Bandshell: The Chamber Music Society Performs Mozart, Beethoven and Dvorak

Despite the persistent drone of helicopters flying overhead, last evening's concert by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Naumburg Bandshell was nevertheless an exceptional event and one of the most pleasant ways imaginable to pass a summer evening in the city. This was one of those quintessential NYC experiences - the glittering lights of apartment buildings on Central Park West were visible through the trees as the respectful audience listened attentively to a performance that was only occasionally punctuated by ringing cellphones and bawling infants.

The performance by the Chamber Music Society was the final event in the 105th season of concerts sponsored by the Naumburg family, the oldest continuous series of free outdoor concerts  in the U.S. and itself a successor to a tradition inaugurated in 1859 when a free band concert was held in a temporary structure in the Park's Ramble.  A wooden and cast-iron Music Pavilion was erected in the Mall in 1862 but was then razed some sixty years later.  The current bandshell was built in 1923 and only narrowly escaped destruction in 1993 when a court order prevented its demolition by the Parks Department.  Last evening marked the first appearance of the Chamber Music Society under the auspices of the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts.

The program contained some of the most popular and accessible pieces in the chamber music repertoire.  The first half consisted of Mozart's Flute Quartet in D, K. 285, and Beethoven's Serenade in D, Op. 25; the concert concluded with Dvorak's famous Piano Quintet in A, Op. 81.  As for the musicians, particularly outstanding were pianist Wu Han, the Society's co-artistic director who performed on the Dvorak Quintet, and flutist Tara Helen O'Connor who performed on the Mozart and Beethoven.  The other performers, all of them notable, were David Finckel (cello), Kristin Lee (violin), Sean Lee (violin) and Daniel Phillips (viola).

For those who weren't lucky enough to be there, the concert was recorded by WQXR and is scheduled to be broadcast on September 2, 2013.