The duo of David Finckel and Wu Han are to end 25 years at the helm of Music@Menlo in a legacy that has changed art and music forever.

International artistic directors David Finckel and Wu Han declare that they will not renew the final term of a twenty-five-year tenure after the 2026 season as artistic directors of the renowned chamber music festival, Music@Menlo, setting one of the most significant legacies in art and music management. Nevertheless, the duo which has contributed to the development of contemporary American chamber music will not stop working at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center but will stay in the profession performing, coaching, and leading, respectively.

Honored with a thrusting devotion to the development of chamber music, Finckel (cello) and Wu Han (piano) have coached hundreds of young performers, uniting performance, education, and community building. Their leadership at Music@Menlo has rendered the festival a landmark institution of classical art and music, including the year-round trainings and concert series.

Wu Han, who attributes awakening to classical music to a flea-market record player in Taiwan, insists that classical music must be accessible to all, not the elite. The spirit has characterized the work that the couple has been undertaking to democratize access to art and music and will continue to do so in future leaders such as pianist Gloria Chien who has since founded her own chamber festivals.

Finckel and Wu Han, in a statement, showed full confidence with great optimism in transferring obeisance of leadership with the determination to lead the art form in the world.

Their exit not only leaves an important mark in American art and music but it also paves the way to new voices that were advanced in their tutelage.