Artistic Directors
David Finckel and Wu Han
Cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han, the founders and Artistic Directors of Music@Menlo, rank among the most esteemed and influential classical musicians in the world today.
The talent, energy, imagination, and dedication they bring to their multifaceted endeavors as concert performers, recording artists, educators, artistic administrators, and cultural entrepreneurs go unmatched. Their busy seasons include performances as a duo and as chamber musicians (including, in David Finckel’s case, more than one hundred concerts annually as cellist of the Emerson String Quartet). Their duo performances take them to some of the most prestigious venues and concert series across the United States, including Lincoln Center, Morgan Library & Museum, Town Hall, and 92nd Street Y in New York; Washington’s Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Institute, and Dumbarton Oaks; San Francisco Performances, Stanford Lively Arts, UCLA LIVE!, and UCSB Arts and Lectures in California; Union Theater and Pabst Theater in Wisconsin; as well as the University of Chicago’s Mandel Hall, Princeton University Concerts, the University of Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium, the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, New Orleans Friends of Chamber Music, and Aspen’s Harris Concert Hall.
The duo’s international engagements have taken them to Mexico, Canada, the Far East, Scandinavia, and continental Europe to unanimous critical acclaim. Highlights from recent seasons include their debuts in Germany and at Finland’s Kuhmo Festival, their presentation of the complete Beethoven cycle in Tokyo, and their signature all- Russian program at London’s Wigmore Hall. David Finckel and Wu Han’s wide-ranging musical activities also include the launch of ArtistLed, the first musician-directed and Internet-based recording company, which is celebrating its tenth year. All ten ArtistLed recordings have received critical acclaim and are available via the company’s Web site at www.artistled.com. The duo’s Russian Classics recording, featuring works by Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich, received BBC Music Magazine’s coveted Editor’s Choice award. The most recent addition to the ArtistLed catalogue, Russian Recital, marks Wu Han’s first full-length solo recording for the label and features works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Scriabin. A recording of Schubert’s trios with violinist Philip Setzer will be released during the fall of 2008.
David Finckel and Wu Han have served as Artistic Directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2004. Prior to launching Music@Menlo, Wu Han and David Finckel served for three seasons as Artistic Directors of SummerFest La Jolla.
For many years, David Finckel and Wu Han taught alongside the late Isaac Stern at Carnegie Hall and the Jerusalem Music Centre. They appeared annually in the Aspen Music Festival’s Distinguished Artist Master Class series and in various educational outreach programs across the country. David Finckel and Wu Han reside in New York with their fourteen-year-old daughter Lilian.