Artistic Directors - Music@Menlo

David Finckel and Wu Han

The Martin Family Artistic Directorship

Music@Menlo founders and Artistic Directors since 2002, cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han continue to navigate the high seas of classical music in the multiple roles of performers, artistic leaders, recording producers, educators, and cultural entrepreneurs. Recipients of Musical America’s Musicians of the Year award, they have appeared at the world’s most prestigious venues presenting duo repertoire that spans virtually the entire literature for their instruments. Founders of ArtistLed—the classical music industry’s first musician-directed, Internet-based recording company—they have released more than twenty CDs of duo and chamber repertoire over two decades, as well as overseeing (and often performing in more than 150 releases on both the Music@Menlo LIVE and CMS Live labels.

Passionately committed to education, Wu Han and David Finckel oversee Music@Menlo’s annual Chamber Music Institute, as well as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program, which attracts and nurtures the most-promising young artists from all over the world. They have led the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as Artistic Directors since 2004, the longest-serving tenure in the organization’s history, and in fall of 2025, they were appointed Co-Artistic Directors of the historic South Mountain Concerts in Massachusetts.

David Finckel and Wu Han married in 1985 and divide their time between touring and residences in New York City and Westchester County. Their daughter Lilian lives and works in Brooklyn as an artist.

About David Finckel

David Finckel was raised in New Jersey––the first American student of Mstislav Rostropovich, he won both junior and senior divisions of the Philadelphia Orchestra competition, leading to two concerto appearances. In 1979, David Finckel became the cellist of the Emerson String Quartet, performing worldwide for 34 seasons and earning nine Grammy Awards and the Avery Fisher Prize. He is a professor at both the Juilliard School and Stony Brook University.

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About Wu Han

Born in Taiwan, Wu Han came to the United States as a graduate student, where her talent quickly came to the attention of noted musicians. Mentored by some of the world’s greatest pianists, among them Lilian Kallir, Menahem Pressler, and Rudolf Serkin, Wu Han thrived at the Marlboro and Aspen Music Festivals and subsequently won the prestigious Andrew Wolf Award. She currently serves as Artistic Director for Palm Beach’s Society of the Four Arts, and La Musica in Sarasota, Florida.

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For more information about David Fickel & Wu Han, please visit their website

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