Salon Concert featuring Robert Marcus and Chengcheng Yao

Clarinetist Robert Marcus and pianist Chengcheng Yao present a chamber-music program spanning Felix Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Francis Poulenc. The salon setting at the historic Arts Club of Washington is intended to evoke the period in which the works were composed, and the performance concludes with a reception featuring the artists.

Marcus has performed as a soloist and chamber musician for more than 75 years, with appearances involving the Nova Vista, Redwood, and Los Alamos symphonies. His repertoire has included works by Mozart, Arturo Márquez del Aguila, John Adams, Debussy, Berio, Stravinsky, Milhaud, Schoenberg, and Osvaldo Golijov. Yao is an internationally performing pianist praised by Marin Alsop and recognized with Yale’s 2017 Elizabeth Parisot Prize and first prize in the 71st Steinway International Piano Competition. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.

When: Friday, September 18, 2026

Showtimes: Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The performance begins at 7:00 p.m. and is followed by a reception with the artists, concluding around 9:00 p.m.

Program: Mendelssohn’s *Five Songs Without Words*; Clara Schumann’s *Three Romances*; Brahms’s *Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 120 No. 2*; and Poulenc’s *Sonata for Clarinet and Piano*

Performers: Robert Marcus, clarinet; Chengcheng Yao, piano

Tickets: $40 for Arts Club members and guests; RSVP required

Venue: Arts Club of Washington, 2017 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20006

Format: Member-and-guest salon concert presented by the Classical Music Committee of the Arts Club of Washington

Reception: A post-concert reception with Robert Marcus and Chengcheng Yao is included.

Availability: The event page lists 19 spaces remaining.