By Greg Cahill | From the November-December 2022 issue of Strings magazine
Chicago is known as the Second City—home to deep-dish pizza, electric blues, and architect Frank Lloyd Wright—but the metropolis on the shores of Lake Michigan is first in the hearts of the Illinois-based Lincoln Trio: violinist Desirée Ruhstrat, cellist David Cunliffe, and pianist Marta Aznavoorian. “We feel so lucky to live in Chicago!” says Ruhstrat, coordinator of the strings chamber music program at Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music. “We have a world-class symphony orchestra and opera company, plus many smaller chamber orchestras, vibrant new-music and chamber music scenes, and wonderful dance companies and theaters. We have two world-class summer music festivals: Ravinia and Grant Park. We have WFMT, an amazing classical music radio station, and Cedille Records, which documents much of the musical excellence that goes on in Chicago. And then there are the art museums, architecture, and Lake Michigan.