Cambiata Cello Duo
Paul Lawrence Finkelstein & Suzanne Mueller
A cambiata is a musical ornament – a changing note. Suzanne Mueller has been performing as half of collaborations under the Cambiata Cello Duo name for over a decade. This iteration – a partnership with Paul Lawrence Finkelstein – was formed in 2023 and made its debut at Old Westbury Gardens in July of that year.
The duo now offers a wide range of programs, including one of music by Spanish and Latin American composers and another of music by Mexican composers, both created at the request of libraries. Other programs blend beloved favorites from Classical repertoire with new discoveries spanning centuries, nations, and styles, with music by composers including Bach, Bartok, Beethoven, Granados, Jobim, Offenbach, Rossini, and contemporary composers Hector Elizondo, Aaron Minsky, and David Wolfson (the latter written specifically for us) and our repertoire is constantly expanding. All of our programs have been enthusiastically received by audiences.
Cellist Suzanne Mueller was Summer Sunday Concerts Artist-in-Residence at Old Westbury Gardens 2003 –2025. She contunes her Music for a Sunday Afternoon series at The Long Island Museum.
A graduate of both the Pre-College and College of The Juilliard School, her teachers have included Marion Feldman, Alexander Kouguell, Lorne Munroe, Leslie Parnas, Channing Robbins, and Harvey Shapiro, and she has coached with artists including Joseph Fuchs, Margot Garrett, Joseph Gingold, and William Lincer.
She made her New York recital debut under the auspices of Artists International, as a member of the piano/cello Elysian Duo, and went on to perform as half of its successor, Elysian II, for ten years before forming CROSS ISLAND with pianist Elinor Abrams Zayas and, later, clarinetist Joseph Rutkowski. They have recorded two albums: Explorations, in 2010, and Quiet Strength, in 2011. She also performed for a decade as half of McCarron & Mueller, with guitarist/composer/arranger Mark McCarron.
In addition to Cambiata Cello Duo and CROSS ISLAND, she is a founding member of Trio Ardiente, with pianist/tanguera Claudine Robins and Joseph Rutkowski and also performs and records with folk duo Hungrytown and as a member of the McCarron Brothers (and Sister) jazz quintet, which released the album Before All This in 2023. She has also appeared and recorded with singer/songwriters Terry Winchell and Robin Eve, and in the jazz-inflected pop ensemble of Dave Rave & Mark McCarron, and performed at the 1988 Berlin Independence Days Festival with the chamber rock ensemble of Richard Barone. She released her solo cello album, Solitaire, in 2013.
Cellist Paul Lawrence Finkelstein studied at Indiana University with Professor Fritz Magg where he received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees. While there, his music coaches included violinists Urico Rossi, Franco Gulli, Joseph Gingold, pianists Sidney Foster and Gyorgy Sebok and opera stars Elizabeth Mannion and Eileen Farrell. He also studied with acclaimed cellist Madame Raya Garbousova.
Mr. Finkelstein performed in Masterclasses given by the Beaux Arts Trio, Midwest Cello Forum and a Masterclass given by renowned cellist Janos Starker. He was chosen to perform the Elgar Cello Concerto which was broadcast live in a Masterclass given by Mstislav Rostropovich.
Concert performances included an appearance as solo continuo cellist with Maestro Helmut Rilling for the Bach Cantatas #33, #81 and# 120. He was solo cellist for Hector Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasilieras # 5 in a performance starring renowned Opera Singer Jessye Norman, and solo cellist for the World Premiere performance of Juan Orego-Salas's oratorio, The Days of God.
Mr. Finkelstein was the principal cellist of the Richmond Symphony and Sinfonia for the 1979-80 season and in 1981 gave his New York Recital Debut at Carnegie Recital Hall. One year later he returned to Carnegie Hall and performed a duo recital with pianist Ray Luck. He currently performs as a member of the Long Island Festival Orchestra and as alternating principal cellist of the Island Symphony Orchestra.