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Description
Chamber Music at CRS presents:
The Search for Humanity in Music: Bloch, Kodaly, Bartok and Beethoven
Saturday, April 25, 2026
Join us for an afternoon of chamber music that reaches into the soul of human experience. Featuring works by Bloch, Kodály, Bartók, and Beethoven, the program explores how composers have drawn from folk traditions, personal adversity, and cultural identity to reveal our shared humanity.
Bloch and Bartók, both immigrants to the U.S., believed the essence of humanity lived in the music of their ancestors. Beethoven’s Op. 59 No. 2—written during his encroaching deafness—expresses the full spectrum of emotion: longing, struggle, and triumph. Its third movement, a tribute to Count Razumovsky, weaves in Russian folk melodies, underscoring music’s power to connect us across time and place.
Discover the common threads that unite us through sound.
Program:
Musical Roots – The Search for Humanity in Music
Suite Modale for flute and string quintet - Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)
I. Moderato
II. L'istesso tempo
III. Allegro giocoso
IV. Adagio – Allegro deciso
Intermezzo for String Trio, Allegretto for string trio - Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
Romanian Dances - Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
I. Jocul cu Bâta
II. Brâul
III. Le Poc
IV. Buciumeana
V. Poargo Româneasca
VI. Maruntel
VII. Maruntel
Intermission
String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2 - L. van Beethoven (1770-1827)
I. Allegro in E minor,
II. Molto adagio in E major,
III. Allegretto Maggiore – Theme
IV. Finale
Artists:
Susan Rotholz, flute
Eliot Bailen, cello
Michael Roth, violin
Doori Na, violin
Sarah Adams, viola
Daniel Bailen, double bass
Meet the Artists:
Eliot Bailen – cello
Eliot has an active career as an artistic director, cellist, composer and teacher. Strings Magazine writes, “At Merkin Hall ‘cellist Eliot Bailen displayed a warm focused tone, concentrated expressiveness and admirable technical command always at the service of the music.” Founder and Artistic Director of the Sherman Chamber Ensemble, now celebrating its 43rd year, whose performances the New York Times has described as “the Platonic ideal of a chamber music concert,” Mr. Bailen is also Founder and Artistic Director of Chamber Music at Rodeph Sholom in New York and Artistic Director of the New York Chamber Ensemble. Principal cello of the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, New York Chamber Ensemble, Orchestra New England, Teatro Grattacielo and the New Choral Society, Mr. Bailen has performed regularly with the Saratoga Chamber Players, Cape May Music Festival, Sebago-Long Lake Chamber Music Festival, Bronx Arts Ensemble as well as with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City Opera and Ballet, Oratorio Society, American Symphony, Stamford Symphony, New Jersey Symphony and is heard frequently in numerous Broadway shows. Among Mr. Bailen’s commissions are an Octet, a Double Concerto for Flute and Cello, Perhaps a Butterfly, Saratoga Sextet, The Tiny Mustache (a musical) and recently a Dectet (“Inclusion”) commissioned by the New Choral Society. Mr. Bailen is recipient of over fifty commissions for his “Song to Symphony” for schools (subject of a NY Times feature article Sept. 2006 and winner of a Yale Alumni Grant). In 2002 he received the Norman Vincent Peale Award for Positive Thinking. Mr. Bailen received his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) from Yale University and an M.B.A. from NYU. He is on the cello and chamber music faculty at Columbia University, Barnard College and Teachers College.
Susan Rotholz – flute
Praised by the New York Times as “irresistible in both music and performance.” flutist, Susan Rotholz continues to be in demand as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician and teacher. Winner of Young Concert Artists with Hexagon Piano and Winds and of Concert Artists Guild as a soloist, Susan is Principal flute of the Greenwich Symphony and The New York Chamber Ensemble and a member of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, The New York Pops and the Little Orchestra Society. She has recorded and toured internationally with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Co-founder of the Sherman Chamber Ensemble she also appears each season with the Cape May Music Festival, Greenwich Chamber Players, Saratoga Chamber Players and the Sebago Long Lake Chamber Music Festival. Susan attended the Marlboro Music Festival and was principal and solo flutist with New England Bach Festival for 25 years. Her recording of the Bach Flute Sonatas and the Solo Partita with Kenneth Cooper, fortepiano is described by The Wall Street Journal as “eloquent and musically persuasive.” Recently, Susan released American Tapestry, Duos for Flute and Piano performing the Beaser Variations, commissioned by Susan in 1982, Copland Duo, Muczynski and Liebermann Sonatas presented by Bridge Records as “…brilliant instrumental virtuosity with deep understanding of this quintessentially American repertoire.” Susan has been newly appointed as Adjunct Artist in Music at Vassar College and continues to teach at Columbia University/Barnard College, Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College. Susan also was guest performer and teacher at the Colorado College Music Festival. She holds degrees from Queens College (BM) and Yale School of Music (MM). In 2002 she received the Norman Vincent Peale Award for Positive Thinking.
About Chamber Music at CRS
Under the direction of Eliot Bailen, Chamber Music at Rodeph Sholom brings together world-class musicians and passionate audiences to celebrate both classical and contemporary repertoire. The series also highlights the profound contributions of Jewish composers and traditions, fostering a vibrant and inclusive musical experience for all ages.
Date & Time
Sat, Apr 25, 2026 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Venue Details
Congregation Rodeph Sholom
7 West 83rd StreetNew York, New York 10024
