By Janelle Gelfand
Enquirer staff writer

The Linton Chamber Music Series is returning for its 27th season with a new associate artistic director, a leaner budget and a starry cast of soloists.

Michael Chertock, pianist and newly appointed faculty member at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, has been named associate artistic director of the series, a new position. Chertock will share duties with Richard Waller, who founded the chamber series in 1978 and plans to remain at its head for now.

Winning two new positions at once - CCM and Linton - was a huge surprise for Chertock. He's also the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's principal pianist and has a flourishing solo career.

"It's going to be a big challenge this year to meld them all together into one cohesive package," he says.

The Linton Series has been built largely on the talent of CSO musicians and guest soloists who visit the symphony. This year, Linton's roster includes three superstar violinists: Robert McDuffie in February; Cho-Liang Lin in March and Chee-Yun in April. The latter two artists recently became members of the CCM strings faculty.

Chertock's vision for the Linton, he says, is to entice a new generation of chamber music fans by introducing new, young talent.

"There are a lot of stunning younger musicians who have never made their way here," he says. "The symphony is always going to be our prime hunting area, but I also want to build up a relationship with CCM."

Watch for stars like Awadagin Pratt (another new pianist on the CCM faculty), May Festival soloists such as tenor John Aler, or clarinetist Ricardo Morales-Matos, a CCM grad and principal clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Recently, the series has struggled financially - its budget of $150,000 is down $100,000 from the 2000 season.

"There was never any danger of it folding," says Lee Oberlag, board vice president. "It's a tough time for finding new funding sources."

Although the Linton still gets grants from the Fine Arts Fund, Ohio Arts Council and other sources, it was not enough to pay for an office and an executive director.

The board decided to cut its administrative costs, but "continue the high quality of music," Oberlag says. "We no longer have an executive director. We have a virtual office (a Web site) and a cell phone."

Like many classical institutions, its loyal audience is aging. Although Sunday's series has a long history of selling out, winning new listeners is a challenge.

In 2000, the series expanded to the suburbs with Encore! Linton, a four-concert series at Congregation Ohav Shalom in Montgomery.

Chertock hopes to grow the audience by reviving the "The Mayor's 801 Plum" series, a now-defunct after-work musicale that merged jazz and classical in Council Chambers at City Hall, and by continuing the popular "Peanut Butter & Jam Sessions" programs for children ages 2 to 5.

"I don't think you can 'gimmick' people into a love of classical music," Chertock says. "A seed has to be planted, and the investment of concentration has to be encouraged.

"Maybe I'm optimistic or naÔve, or maybe it means we'll have to have Mick Jagger as a guest."

2004-05 season

Concerts are at 4 p.m., except as noted, First Unitarian Church, Avondale

Oct. 31 - Opus One (violinist Ida Kavafian, violist Steven Tenenbom, cellist Peter Wiley and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott). Music by Stravinsky, Stephen Hartke and Brahms.

Dec. 5 (7:30 p.m.) - Guest artist TBA.

Feb. 6 - Violinist Robert McDuffie, with Michael Strauss, viola; Eric Kim, cello; and Michael Chertock, piano. Music by Ravel and Schumann.

March 20 - Violinist Cho Liang-Lin, with Eric Kim, cello and Naida Cole, piano. Music by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and the Cincinnati premiere of Georg Tintner's Sonata for Violin and Piano.

April 10 - William McGraw, baritone; Michael Chertock, piano; and Naomi Lewin, narrator. Schumann's Dichterliebe (song cycle for voice and piano); William Walton's FaÁade; and Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds.

May 8 - Violinist Chee-Yun; Gillian Benet Sella, harpist. Saint-Saens' Fantasie for Violin and Harp.

Encore! Linton Chamber Music Series

Concerts are at 7:30 p.m., Congregation Ohav Shalom, Montgomery

Nov. 1 - Violinist Ida Kavafian; cellist Peter Wiley and pianist Anne Marie McDermott. Beethoven's Piano Trio, Op. 70

No. 2 in E-flat Major.

Dec. 6 - Guest artist TBA.

Feb. 7 - Violinist Robert McDuffie; Michael Strauss, viola; Eric Kim, cello; and Michael Chertock, piano. Music by Ravel and Schumann.

May 9 - Violinist Chee-Yun; Gillian Benet Sella, harpist. Saint-Saens' Fantasie for Violin and Harp.

Subscriptions: The Linton Chamber Music Series (six Sunday concerts): $170. Encore! Linton (four Monday concerts): $100. Single tickets: $30.

Renewals before Oct. 1 receive a $20 discount. 381-6868 or www.lintonmusic.org.

---

E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com