Press Release

July 7, 2026

For Immediate Release

Cassatt String Quartet's 40th anniversary performances continue through fall 2026

Highlight is anniversary concert on October 15 at Merkin Hall featuring premieres by Victoria Bond and Laura Kaminsky and music by Joan Tower

Plus concerts at Music Mountain, Bohemian National Hall, and Seal Bay Festival

Cassatt String Quartet by Dario Acosta

(L to R: Laura Jean Goldberg, violin; Yi Qun Xu, cello; Muneko Otani, violin; Amy Galluzzo, viola)

The Cassatt String Quartet's 40th anniversary season continues through the fall of 2026 with violinists Muneko Otani and Laura Jean Goldberg, violist Amy Galluzzo and cellist Yi Qun Xu.

The highlight of the season is a special anniversary concert at Merkin Hall with pianist Magdalena Stern-Baczewska featuring the premiere of a piano quintet by Victoria Bond and a new work by Laura Kaminsky, plus music written for the quartet by Joan Tower.

The quintet commissioned Bond to write the quintet "New York Nocturne" especially for the anniversary. It is inspired by four Georgia O'Keefe paintings portraying NYC at night. For Kaminsky's premiere of her new octet "The Blue Bottle," the Cassatts will be joined by the Fry Street Quartet.

"We are thrilled to present this significant program to cap our 40th anniversary," says first violinist Muneko Otani. "We've been so privileged to have such fruitful relationships with Victoria, Joan, and Laura over the years. Each of these composers have written such beautiful works for us, it's an honor to present them all on the October 15 program capping this momentous anniversary."

The quartet's fall season is rounded out with a show at Music Mountain in Falls Village, CT, on August 30 featuring the world premiere of a clarinet quintet by Javier Montiel, Seal Bay Festival performances across Maine September 13-15, and a concert at Bohemian National Hall in New York City on December 5.

Music Mountain Summer Festival

August 30, 3 pm at Gordon Hall, Music Mountain 
(225 Music Mountain Rd, Falls Village, CT)

PROGRAM

with guests Javier Montiel, viola & Oskar Espina Ruiz, clarinet

Florence Price: Five Folksongs in Counterpoint

W.A. Mozart: Viola Quintet, K. 516

Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Quintet , Op. 34

Javier Montiel: Clarinet Quintet (world premiere)

Seal Bay Festival Community Concerts

September 13, 2 pm at 75 State Street (Portland, ME)

September, 13, 4 pm at Village Square (Gorham, ME)

September 14, 2:30 pm at Thornton Oaks (Brunswick, ME)

September 14, 4:15 pm at Highlands Retirement Community (Topsham, ME)

September 14, 2 pm at Atrium at the Cedars (Portland, ME)

PROGRAM

with guest violist Laura Stern

Caroline Shaw: Entr'acte

Joshua Amir: Echo of a Vengeful Turn

Victoria Bond: New York Nocturne

Florence Price: Five Folksongs in Counterpoint

Aaron Copland: Hoe-down

Jay Unger: Ashokan Farewell

Mozart: String Quartet K. 421

Mozart: Viola Quintet, K. 516

Cassatt String Quartet 40th Anniversary Concert

October 15, 8 pm at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center (129 W. 67th St., New York, NY)

PROGRAM

with guest pianist Magdalena Baczewska and the Fry Street Quartet

Victoria Bond: New York Nocturne (piano quintet)*

Joan Tower: For Jeff, with love (string quartet)**

Laura Kaminsky: The Blue Bottle (string octet)*

*world premiere

**NYC premiere

Bohemian National Hall

December 5, at Bohemian National Hall (321 E 73rd St. New York, NY)



PROGRAM

with guest guitarist Eliot Fisk

Antonín Dvořák: selections from Cypresses

Daniel Strong Godfrey: Toward Light quintet for string quartet and guitar

Various: a celebration of American jazz

Cassatt String Quartet Biography

Hailed for its “mighty rapport and relentless commitment,” the Cassatt String Quartet has captivated audiences around the world for four decades. Founded in 1985, the Quartet has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Tanglewood, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City, Maeda Hall in Tokyo, and Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary during the 2026–2027 season, the Quartet continues its distinguished tradition of performances, recordings, educational residencies, and the commissioning of new works. Recent highlights include Joan Tower's For Jeff, with Love, premiered at Maverick Concerts; the world premieres of Laura Kaminsky's String Octet and Victoria Bond's Piano Quintet New York Nocturne at Merkin Hall in New York City; and the New York premiere of Daniel Strong Godfrey's Toward Light with internationally acclaimed guitarist Eliot Fisk.

The Quartet also maintains a long-standing residency with the Seal Bay Festival of American Chamber Music in Maine, where it combines performances, educational outreach, and mentorship of emerging composers through its annual Composer Institute.

The members of the Cassatt String Quartet are violinists Muneko Otani and Laura Jean Goldberg, violist Amy Galluzzo, and cellist Yi Qun Xu. Named for the pioneering American painter Mary Cassatt, the Quartet reflects her legacy through its enduring commitment to artistic excellence, contemporary American music, and the advancement of women in the arts.