New York Philharmonic musicians Alina Ming Kobialka (violin), I-Jung Huang (violin), Leah Ferguson (viola), and Matthew Christakos (cello) present an evening of chamber music spanning three centuries of the string quartet repertoire.

The program features Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76, No. 5 (ca. 1797), a masterwork of the Classical era; Mendelssohn’s lyrical and virtuosic String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 44, No. 2 (1837); and Philip Glass’s String Quartet No. 2, “Company” (1983), one of the composer’s most celebrated chamber works.

 

  • NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC

    Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic plays a leading cultural role in New York City, the United States, and the world. Each season the Orchestra connects with millions of music lovers through live concerts in New York and beyond, as well as broadcasts, recordings, and education programs. Gustavo Dudamel becomes the NY Phil’s Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Music and Artistic Director Designate in September 2025, before beginning his tenure as Music and Artistic Director in the autumn of 2026.

    The 2025–26 season offers a preview of the era to come, with Dudamel conducting works that reflect on the United States in the nation’s 250th anniversary year, including three World Premieres: a work by Leilehua Lanzilotti, David Lang’s The Wealth of Nations (the result of his being named a 2024 winner of the Orchestra’s Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music), and new orchestrations of Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated by more than a dozen of today’s leading composers. Dudamel also leads the New York Premiere of Ellen Reid’s work for chorus and orchestra, co-commissioned in partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; collaborates with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra; and conducts the Spring Gala concert. The Philharmonic also welcomes cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence, appearing on two subscription programs and an Artist Spotlight recital with pianist Isata Kanneh- Mason, his sister. The NY Phil honors former Music Director Pierre Boulez’s centennial through consecutive programs featuring selections from Boulez’s Notations, performed by pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and a staged performance of Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna, commissioned in partnership with the LA Phil and Opéra de Paris. Other highlights include the return of composer-conductor Thomas Adès, who leads a work he composed for the NY Phil in 1999, and the World Premiere of an NY Phil commission by George Lewis — one of the season’s 19 World, US, and New York Premieres.

    The New York Philharmonic’s legacy of commissioning and/or premiering works by leading composers runs from Dvořák’s New World Symphony to two Pulitzer Prize winners: John Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls and Tania León’s Stride, commissioned through Project 19, which is supporting the creation of works by 19 women composers. The Orchestra has released more than 2,000 recordings since 1917, including the live recording of Julia Wolfe’s Grammy-nominated Fire in My Mouth.

    In 2023 the NY Phil announced a partnership with Apple Music Classical, the standalone music streaming app designed to deliver classical music lovers the optimal listening experience. The nationally syndicated radio program The New York Philharmonic This Week features the Philharmonic’s recent performances and commercial recordings complemented by interviews and archival highlights. The Orchestra’s extensive history is available free online through the New York Philharmonic Shelby White & Leon Levy Digital Archives.

    A resource for its community and the world, the Orchestra complements the annual free Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, and the Free Concert at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, Presented by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, with the Phil for All: Ticket Access Program. The NY Phil’s impactful education projects include the Young People’s Concerts, Very Young People’s Concerts, and the New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers Program. The Orchestra has appeared in 436 cities in 63 countries, including Pyongyang, DPRK, in 2008 — the first visit there by an American orchestra — as well as, in 2024, the first visit to mainland China by a US orchestra since the COVID-19 pandemic, a tour that included education activities as part of the tenth anniversary of the NY Phil–Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Partnership.

    The New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States and one of the oldest orchestras in the world. Notable figures who have conducted the Philharmonic include Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, and Copland. Distinguished conductors who have served as Music Director include Bernstein, Toscanini, and Mahler.

  • Alina Ming Kobialka

    Violinist Alina Ming Kobialka joined the New York Philharmonic in 2022. Since makin her solo debut at age 14 with the San Francisco Symphony, she has since performed with various American orchestras, including the Las Vegas Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and California Symphony. In 2015 she made her Asian performance debut with the Macau Youth Symphony on its New Year’s concert. In 2016 she toured Japan with the Kagawa International Youth Orchestra, and in 2017 performed in the Shanghai International Arts Festival gala concert. Kobialka was awarded Second Prize at the 2017 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition; was named a Laureate of the 2016 Irving M. Klein International Competition; and received the Grand Prize at the Mondavi Center National Young Artists Competition. An avid chamber musician, she has been an artist at the Marlboro Music Festival, where she performed with pianist Mitsuko Uchida. Alina Ming Kobialka studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s preparatory program and the Colburn School’s Music Academy. She received her master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

    Photo: Chris Lee

  • I-Jung Huang

    Violinist I-Jung Huang joined the New York Philharmonic in 2022, having served in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra beginning in 2020. She is a top prizewinner of the 2017 Ima Hogg Concerto, 2016 Hudson Valley String, Taipei Symphony Orchestra “The Young Talent,” and Academy of Taiwan Strings competition Huang has appeared as soloist with the Houston Symphony, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Taiwan Philharmonic, and Taipei Symphony orchestras, and served as concertmaster at Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School, and New England Conservatory. She has participated in festivals including the Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, Ravinia, and Four Seasons Winter Workshop; collaborated with Robert McDonald, Cynthia Phelps, Leila Josefowicz, and Peter Wiley, among others; and appeared with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, New York Classical Players, and the New Asia Chamber Music Society. I-Jung Huang studied at Manhattan School of Music, received her bachelor’s degree from New England Conservatory, and received her master’s degree from Juilliard.

    Photo: Chris Lee

  • Leah Ferguson

    Violist Leah Ferguson joined the New York Philharmonic in 2018, having been a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, she began playing the violin at age five and switched to the viola at age twelve. She has performed at festivals including Music@Menlo, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Verbier, and the Perlman Music Program. She has collaborated with musicians including Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, and Miriam Fried and performed as a guest artist with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble. Ferguson’s performances have been broadcast by WCLV Cleveland, WFMT Chicago, WQXR The Greene Space, NPR’s From the Top, and HBO’s documentary series Masterclass. She has also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as guest principal viola, with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal as guest associate principal, and with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra as assistant principal. Leah Ferguson received her bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a graduate diploma from The Juilliard School as a recipient of the Kovner Fellowship.

    Photo: Chris Lee

  • Matthew Christakos

    Matthew Christakos joined the New York Philharmonic as Associate Principal Cello, The Paul and Diane Guenther Chair, in 2024. Originally from Toronto, Canada, he studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and served as principal cello of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. His honors include the 2019 Canada Council for the Arts’s Michael Measures Prize, Second Prize in the Canadian Music Competition’s 2019 Stepping Stone, and First Prize in the 2017 Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival President’s Trophy Competition. Before attending Curtis, Christakos studied in Toronto at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists, where he won the concerto competition and performed as soloist with the Academy Chamber Orchestra. In 2019 he toured Canada and Spain as a featured soloist with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Christakos is an alumnus of the Morningside Music Bridge program. 

    New York Philharmonic Musician Portraits. Matthew Christakos. Photo: Brandon Patoc

Sponsors

Performing Arts programs are supported by 2026 season sponsors Galia Meiri-Stawski and Axel Stawski, with additional lead support from Henry and Peggy Schleiff, The Melville Straus Family Endowment, Monica and Peter Tessler, and Vital Projects Fund. 

Guild Hall’s Performing Arts programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. 

Music Programming is supported in part by The Ellen and James S. Marcus Endowment for Musical Programming, and the Anne Wolf Concert Fund. 

Additional support provided by Friends of the Theater: Natascia Ayers and Jim Ciquera, Bonnie and Joel Bergstein, Gene Bernstein and Kathy Walsh, Amy Cooney and Marty Feinman, John and Joan D’Addario, Suzanne and John Golden, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, Steve and Susan Pesner and Peace, in memory of Michéle Pesner, whose entire life was devoted to all aspects of culture, The Schaffner Family Foundation, Lisa Schultz and Ezriel Kornel, Stacey and Oliver Stanton, and Susi and Peter Wunsch. 

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