The Howland Chamber Music Circle (HCMC) is beginning its 20th season of bringing classical concerts to the area. The acoustically intimate space of the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon seems to be built just for that purpose.

The Walden Chamber Players will launch the season on Sunday, Sept. 23, with a program that includes Schubert’s popular Trout Quintet. Cellist Zuill Bailey will return, followed by two string quartets new to HCMC’s audience, the Brooklyn Rider Quartet, who will be playing both traditional and contemporary pieces, and the Doric Quartet from England, with Schubert’s Death and the Maiden and other works.

The spring part of the season starts with the Peabody Piano Trio, featuring Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time with clarinetist Charles Neidich. Classical guitarist William Kanengeiser will follow with a varied program. Then the Alexander String Quartet will return to play pieces by Schubert and Britten.

The Brentano Quartet will perform during the 20th anniversary season. Photo by Peter Schaaf

For the finale of this 20th season, HCMC welcomes back their friends, the Brentano Quartet. Their performance will feature the Cesar Franck Quintet with pianist Thomas Sauer. A gala reception to celebrate 20 successful seasons will conclude the afternoon.

The Chamber Music Circle will again present its popular mid-winter Piano Series. Three of the performers are new to the audience. Juho Pohjonen from Finland made a big splash at last year’s Mostly Mozart Festival. Jenny Lin will follow with a variety of pieces. Next will be the young pianist Kuok-Wei Lio from Macau. To close out the Piano Series, a favorite of HCMC’s audience, Austrian pianist Till Fellner, returns in April.

All concerts take place on Sundays at 4 p.m. at the Howland Center, 477 Main St., Beacon.

Subscriptions to the chamber music series are available for four to eight concerts, from $110 to $185. The subscriptions for the piano festival are $80 for three and $105 for all four concerts. Tickets to individual concerts are $30. All student tickets are $10.

For a detailed brochure, visit howlandmusic.org; write to Howland Chamber Music Circle at P.O. Box 224, Chelsea, NY 12512-0224; or call 845-297-9243.

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